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LIBRARY    OF    THE    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,    N.    J. 
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HISTORICAL  COLLECTIO 


OF 


SOUTH    CAROLINA; 


EMBRACING    MANY 


RARE  AND  VALUABLE   PAMPHLETS, 


AND 


OTHER  DOCUMENTS, 

REfcATINa  TO  THE 

HISTORY  OF   THAT   STATE, 

FROM  ITS  FIRST  DISCOVERY  TO  ITS  INDEPENDENCE, 
IN   THE    YEAR    177fi, 


COMPILED,  WITH  VAHIOTTS  NOTES,  ANB  AN  INTRODUCTION, 

BY  B.   R.  tJARROLL. 

IN   TWO   TOLUMES. 

VOL.    II. 


NEW-YORK: 
PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &   BROTHERS, 

NO.   82,    CLIFF-STREET. 

1836. 


H.  LUrrwiG,  PRIKTES. 


CONTENTS 


A  brief  description  of  the  province  of  Carolina,  on  the  coasts  of  Floreda. 
And  more  particularly  of  a  new  plantation  begun  by  the  English  at 
Cape  Feare,  on  that  river  now  by  them  called  Charles  River,  the  29th 
of  May,  1664.  Wherein  is  set  forth  the  healthfulness  of  the  air;  the 
fertility  of  the  earth,  and  waters;  and  the  great  pleasure  and  profit  will 
accrue  to  those  that  shall  go  thither  to  enjoy  the  same.  Also,  directions 
and  advice  to  such  as  shall  go  thither  whether  on  their  own  accompts 
or  to  serve  under  another.  Together  with  a  most  accurate  map  of  the 
whole  province,  . .         .9 

An  account  of  the  province  of  Carolina,  in  America:  together  with  an 
abstract  of  the  patent,  and  several  other  necessary  and  useful  particulars 
to  such  as  have  thoughts  of  transporting  themselves  thither.  Published 
for  their  information,  .         • 19 

The  second  chaiter  granted  by  King  Charles  II.  to  the  proprietors  of 
Carolina, .         .37 

Carolina  ;  or  a  description  of  the  present  state  of  that  country,  and  the 
natural  excellencies  thereof;  namely,  the  healthfulness  of  the  air,  plea- 
santness of  the  place,  advantages  and  usefulness  of  those  rich  commodi- 
ties there  plentifully  abounding,  which  much  encrease  and  flourish  by 
the  industry  of  the  planters  that  daily  enlarge  that  colony.  Published 
by  T.  A.  Gent,  clerk  on  board  his  majesty's  ship  the  Richmond,  which 
was  sent  out  in  the  year  1680,  with  particular  instructions  to  inquire 
into  the  state  of  that  country  by  his  majesties  special  command,  and 
return'd  this  present  year,  1682, . 59 


IV  CONTENTS. 

A  description  of  tlie  fertile  and  pleasant  province  of  Carolina;  with  a  brief 
account  of  its  discovery  and  settling,  and  the  government  thereof  to  this 
time.  With  several  remarkable  passages  of  Divine  Providence  during 
my  time.     By  John  Archdale,  late  governor  of  the  same,     .        .         .85 

Proposals  by  Mr.  Peter  Purry,  of  Newfchatel,  for  eHCOuragement  of  such 
Swiss  protestants  as  should  agree  to  accompany  him  to  Carolina,  to  set- 
tle a  new  colony.  And,  also,  a  description  of  the  province  of  South  Ca- 
rolina, drawn  up  at  Charlestown,  in  September,  1731,  .         .         .  121 

A  narrative  of  the  proceedings  of  the  people  of  South  Carolina,  in  the 
year  1719  j  and  of  the  true  causes  and  motives  that  induced  them  to  re- 
nounce their  obedience  to  the  lords  proprietors,  as  their  governors,  and 
to  put  themselves  under  the  immediate  government  of  the  crown,  .  ]41 

A  description  of  South  Carolina;  containing  many  curious  and  interesting 
particulars  relating  lo  the  civil,  natural,  and  commercial  history  of  that 
colony,  namely,  the  succession  of  European  settlers  there;  grants  of 
English  charters;  boundaries;  constitution  of  the  government;  taxes; 
number  of  inhabitants,  and  of  the  neighbouring  Indian  nations,  &c. :  the 
nature  of  the  climate ;  tabular  accounts  of  the  altitudes  of  the  barometer, 
monthly,  for  four  years ;  of  the  depths  of  rain,  monthly,  for  eleven  years ; 
and  of  the  wind's  direction,  daily,  for  one  year,  &c.  The  culture  and 
product  of  rice,  Indian  corn,  and  indigo  ;  the  process  of  extracting  tar 
and  turpentine;  the  state  of  their  maritime  trade  in  the  years  1710, 
1713,  1723,  1740,  and  1748,  with  tlie  number  of  tonnage  of  shipping 
employed,  and  the  species,  quantities  and  values  of  their  product  export- 
ed in  one  year,  &c.  To  which  is  added  a  very  particular  account  of 
their  rice  trade,  for  twenty  years,  with  their  exports  of  raw  silk,  and 
importsof  British  silk  manufactures  for  twenty-five  years,     .         ,         .  193 

Political  annals  of  the  province  of  Carolina;  from  the  political  annals  of 
the  United  Colonies,  by  George  Chalmers,    ......  273 

Statements  made  in  the  introduction  to  the  report  of  General  Oglethorpe's 
expedition  to  St.  Augustine, 347 

X  The  first  set  of  the  fundamental  constitntions  of  South  Carolina,  as  com- 
piled by  Mr.  John  Locke,     .        ;        .        .        .         .        .        .         .361 


CONTENTS.  V 

The  history  of  Carolina;  being  an  account  of  that  colony,  originally  pub- 
lished in  the  history  of  the  British  empire  in  America.  By  J.  Oldmixon.  391 

A  short  description  of  the  province  of  South  Carolina  f  with  an  account  of 
the  air,  weather,  and  diseases,  at  Charlestown,  written  in  the  year  1763,  463 

An  account  of  missionaries  sent  to  South  Carolina :  the  places  to  which 
they  were  appointed  ;  their  labours  and  success,  &c 537 

An  account  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  Yamassee  war,  in  South  Carolina, 
extracted  from  the  Boston  News,  of  the  13th  of  June,  1715,         .        .  569 

An  account  of  what  the  army  did  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Moore  in 
his  expedition  last  winter,  against  the  Spaniards  and  Spanish  Indians. 
In  a  letter  from  the  said  Col.  JVIoore  to  the  governor  of  Carolina.  Printed 
in  the  Boston  News,  May  1, 1704, 573 


HISTORICAL  COLLECTIONS 


OP 


SOUTH    CAEOLINA. 


THE  SECOND 


CHARTER 


GRANTED  BY 


KING    CHARLES    II 


TO  THE 


PROPRIETORS 


OF 


CAROLINA. 


Charles  the  Second  hy  the  grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain, 
Frarice,  and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  faith,  ^c. 

Whereas,  By  our  Letters  Patents,  bearing  date  the  four 
and  twentieth  day  of  March ;  in  the  fifteenth  year  of 
Our  Reign,  We  were  graciously  pleased  to  grant  unto 
our  right  trusty,  and  right  well-beloved  cousin  and 
counsellor  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  our  high  Chan- 
cellor of  England,  our  right  trusty,  and  right  intirely 
beloved  cousin  and  counsellor,  George  Duke  of  Albe- 
marle, Master  of  our  Horse,  our  right  trusty  and  well 
beloved  William,  now  Earl  of  Craven,  our  right  trusty, 
and  well-beloved  counsellor,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  our 
right  trusty,  and  well-beloved  counsellor,  Anthony  Lord 
Ashley,  Chancellor  of  our  Exchequer,  our  right  trusty 
and  well-beloved  counsellor  Sir  George  Carter ett  Knight 
and  baronet,  Vice-Chamberlain  of  our  Household,  our 
right  trusty  and  well-beloved,  Sir  John  Colleton  Knight 
and  Baronet,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley  Knight,  all  that 
Province,  Territory,  or  Tract  of  Ground,  called  Carolina, 
scituate,  lying  and  being  within  our  dominions  oi  America, 
extending  from  the  north  end  of  the  Island,  called  Jjoke 
Island,  which  lyeth  in  the  Southern  Virginia  seas,  and 
within  six  and  thirty  degrees  of  the  northern  latitude  ; 
and  to  the  rvest,  as  far  as  the  south  seas  ;  and  so  respec- 
tively as  far  as  the  river  of  Mathias,  which  bordereth 
upon  the  coast  of  Florida,  and  within  one  and  thirty 
degrees  of  the  northern  latitude,  and  so  rvest  in  a  direct 
line,  as  far  as  the  south  seas  aforesaid. 

Now,  Know  ye  that  We,  at  the  humble  request  of 
the  said  grantees  in  the  aforesaid  letters,  patents  named, 
and  as  a  further  mark  of  our  especial  favour  towards 


PROPRIETORS  OF  CAROLINA.  39 

them,  We  are  gratiously  pleased  to  enlarge  our  said 
grant  unto  them,  according  to  the  bounds  and  limits 
hereafter  specifyed,  and  in  favor  to  the  pious  and 
noble  purpose  of  the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon, 
George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven, 
John  Lord  Berkeley,  Antliomj  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George 
Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton  and  Sir  William  Berkeley, 
their  heirs  and  assigns,  all  that  Province,  territory,  or 
tract  of  ground,  scituate,  lying,  and  being  within  our 
an  "nions  of  America  aforesaid,  extending  north  and 
andpri\x  "^  far  as  the  north  end  of  Carahtuke  River,  or 
CrM^fci;,  ^riesii  a  streight  westerly  line,  to  Wyonoake  Creek, 
which  lyes  within,  or  about  the  degrees  of  thirty  six,  and 
thirty  minutes  northern  latitude,  and  so  west,  in  a  direct 
line  as  far  as  the  south  seas  ;  and  south  and  'westward, 
as  far  as  the  degrees  of  twenty  nine  inclusive  northern 
latitude,  and  so  west  in  a  direct  line  as  far  as  the  south 
seas ;  together  with  all  and  singular  ports,  harbours, 
bays,  rivers  and  islets,  belonging  unto  the  province  or 
territory  aforesaid.  And  also,  all  the  soil,  lands,  fields^ 
woods,  mountains,  forms,  lakes,  rivers,  bays  and  islets, 
scituate,  or  being  within  the  bounds,  or  limits,  last  before 
mentioned ;  with  the  fishing  of  all  sorts  of  fish,  whales, 
sturgeons,  and  all  other  royal  fishes  in  the  sea,  bays,- 
islets  and  rivers,  within  the  premises,  and  the  fish 
therein  taken ;  together  with  the  royalty  of  the  sea,  upon 
the  coast  within  the  limits  aforesaid.  And  m.oreover,  all 
veins,  mines  and  quarries,  as  well  discovered  as  not 
discover'd,  of  gold,  silver,  gems  and  precious  stones, 
and  all  other  whatsoever ;  be  it  of  stones,  mettal,  or 
any  other  thing  found,  or  to  be  found  within  the  pro- 
vince, territory,  islets  and  limits  aforesaid. 

And  furthermore,  the  patronage  and  avowsons  of  all 
the  churches  and  chappels,  which  as  Christian  Religion 


40  THE  SECOND  CHARTER  TO  THE 

shall  encrease  within  the  province,  territory,  isles   and 
limits  aforesaid,   shall  happen  hereafter  to  be  erected ; 
together  with  license   and  power  to  build   and  found 
churches,  chappels,  and  oratories  in  convenient  and  fit 
places,  within  the  said  bounds  and  limits  ;  and  to  cause 
them  to  be  dedicated  and  consecrated,  according  to  the 
ecclesiastical  laws  of  our  Kingdom  of  England  ;  together 
wnth  all  and  singular,   the  like,   and  as   ample  rights, 
jurisdictions,  priviledges,  prerogatives,   royalties,  liber- 
ties, immunities  and  franchises,   of  what  kind  soev^ 
within  the  territory,  isles,   islets  and  limits  p" 
To  have,   hold,    use,   exercise   and  enjoy  tl      .ame  as 
amply,  fully,  and  in  as  ample  manner  as  any  bishop  of 
Durham  in  our  kingdom  of  England,  ever  heretofore 
had,  held,  used,  or  enjoyed,  or  of  right  ought,  or  could 
have,  use,  or  enjoy ;  and  them  the  said  Edward  Earl  of 
Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl  of 
Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir 
George  Carterett,    Sir  John   Colleton,  and  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  their  heirs   and  assigns ;    We    do  by   these 
presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  make,  create, 
and  constitute  the  true  and  absolute  lords  and  proprie- 
tors of  the  said  province,  or  territory,  and  of  all  other  the 
premises,  saving  always  the  faith,  allegiance  and  sove- 
reign dominion  due  to  us,   our  heirs  and  successors  for 
the   same ;    to  have,  hold,  possess  and  enjoy  the  said 
province,  territory,  islets,  and  all  and  singular,  other  the 
premises,  to  them  the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon, 
George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl   of  Craven, 
John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George 
Carterett,   Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley, 
their  heirs  and  assigns,  for  ever,  to  be  holden  of  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors,  as  of  our  manner  of  East  Green- 
wich, in  J{^e7it,  in  free  and  common  soccage,  and  not  in 


PROPRIETORS  OF  CAROLINA.  41 

capite,  or  by  Knights  service,  yielding-  and  paying  yearly 
to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  for  the  same  the  fourth 
part  of  all  gold  and  silver  oar,  which  within  the  limits 
hereby  granted,  shall  from  time  to  time,  happen  to  be 
found,  over  and  besides  the  yearly  rent  of  twenty 
marks  and  the  fourth  part  of  the  gold  and  silver  oar,  in 
and  by  the  said  recited  letters  patent  reserved  and 
payable, 

And  that  the  province,  or  territory  hereby  granted 
and  described,  may  be  dignifyed  with  as  large  tithes 
and  priviledges  as  any  other  parts  of  our  dominions  and 
territories  in  that  region.  Know  ye,  That  We,  of  our 
further  grace,  certain  knowledge  and  meer  motion,  have 
thought  fit  to  annex  the  same  tract  of  ground  and  terri- 
tory, unto  the  same  province  of  Carolina ;  and  out  of 
the  fulness  of  our  royal  powder  and  prerogative.  We  do 
for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  annex  and  unite  the 
same  to  the  said  province  of  Carolina.  And  forasmuch 
as  we  have  made  and  ordain'd,  the  aforesaid  Edrvard 
Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William 
Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord 
Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir 
William  Berkeley,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  the  true  lords 
and  proprietors  of  all  the  Province  or  Territory  afore- 
said. Know  ye  therefore  moreover.  That  we  reposing 
special  trust  and  confidence  in  their  fidelity,  wisdom, 
justice  and  provident  circumspection  for  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  do  grant  full  and  absolute  power,  by 
virtue  of  these  presents,  to  them  the  said  Edrvard  Earl 
of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl 
of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley, 
Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  for  the  good  and 
happy  government  of  the  said  whole  province  or  terri- 

6 


42  THE  SECOND  CHARTER  TO  THE   ' 

tory,   full  power  and  authority  to  erect,  constitute,  and 
make  several  counties,  baronies,  and  colonies,  of  and 
within  the  said  provinces,  territories,  lands  and  heredit- 
aments,  in  and  by  the  said  recited  letter,   patents,   and 
these  presents,  granted,   or  mentioned  to  be  granted,  as 
aforesaid,  with  several  and  distinct  jurisdictions,  powers, 
liberties  and  priviledges.     And  also,   to  ordain,  make 
and  enact,   and  under  their  seals,   to  publish  any  laws 
and  constitutions  whatsoever,  either  appertaining  to  the 
publick  state  of  the  said  whole  province  or  territory,  or 
of  any  distinct  or  particular  county,  barony  or  colony, 
of  or  within  the  same,   or  to  the  private  utility  of  par- 
ticular persons,   according  to  their  best  discretion,  by 
and  with  the  advice,  assent  and  approbation  of  the  free- 
men of  the  said  province  or  territory,  or  of  the  freemen 
of  the  county,  barony  or  colony,  for  which  such  law  or 
constitution  shall  be  made,  or  the  greater  part  of  them, 
or  of  their  delegates  or  deputies,  whom  for  enacting  of 
the  said  laws,  when,  and  as  often  as  need  shall  require. 
We  will  that  the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George 
Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord 
Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,   Sir   George  Carterett^ 
Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley,   and  their 
heirs  or  assigns,   shall  from  time  to  time,  assemble  in 
such  manner  and  form  as  to  them  shall  seem  best: 
And  the  same  laws  duly  to  execute  upon  all  people 
within   the  said  province  or  territory,  county,  barony 
or  colony  or  the  limits  thereof,  for  the  time  being,  which 
shall  be  constituted  under  the  power  and  government 
of  them,  or  any  of  them,  either  sailing  towards  the  said 
province   or  territory   of  Carolina,   or   returning  from 
thence  towards  England,  or  any  other  of  our,  or  foreign 
dominions,  by  imposition  of  penalties,  imprisonment, 
or  any  other  punishment :    Yea,  if  it  shall  be  needful, 


PROPRIETORS  OF  CAROLINA.  43 

and  the  quality  of  the  ojffence  require  it,  bj  taking  av/aj 
member  and  life,  either  by  them,  the  said  Edward  Earl 
of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl 
of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley, 
Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William 
Berkeley  and  their  heirs,  or  by  them  or  their  deputies, 
lieutenants,  judges,  justices,  magistrates,  or  officers 
whatsoever,  as  well  within  the  said  province  as  at  sea, 
in  such  manner  and  form  as  unto  the  said  Edward  Earl 
of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl 
of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley, 
Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton  and  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  and  their  heirs,  shall  seem  most  convenient: 
Also,  to  remit,  release,  pardon  and  abolish,  whether 
before  judgment  or  after,  all  crimes  and  offences  what- 
soever, against  the  said  laws ;  and  to  do  all  and  every 
other  thing  and  things,  which  unto  the  compleat  estab- 
lishment of  justice,  unto  courts,  sessions  and  forms  of 
judicature,  and  manners  of  proceedings  therein,  do  be- 
long, although  in  these  presents,  express  mention  is  not 
made  thereof ;  and  by  judges,  to  him  or  them  delegated 
to  award,  process,  hold  pleas,  and  determine  in  all  the 
said  courts  and  places  of  judicature,  all  actions,  suits 
and  causes  whatsoever,  as  well  criminal  as  civil,  real, 
mixt,  personal,  or  of  any  other  kind  or  nature  whatso- 
ever :  Which  laws  so  as  aforesaid,  to  be  published. 
Our  pleasure  is,  and  we  do  enjoyn,  require  and  com- 
mand, shall  be  absolutely  firm  and  available  in  law  ; 
and  that  all  the  liege  people  of  us,  our  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors, within  the  said  province  or  territory,  do  observe 
and  keep  the  same  inviolably  in  those  parts,  so  far  as 
they  concern  them,  under  the  pains  and  penalties  therein 
expressed,  or  to  be  expressed  ;  Provided,  nevertheless, 
that  the  said  laws  be  consonant  to  reason,  and  as  near 


44  THE  SECOND  CHARTER  TO  THE 

as  may  be  conveniently,  agreeable  to  the  laws  and  cus- 
toms of  this  our  realm  of  England. 

And  because  such  assemblies  of  freeholders  cannot 
be  so  suddenly  called  as  there  may  be  occasion  to  re- 
quire the  same,  We  do  therefore  by  these  presents, 
give  and  grant  unto  the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon, 
George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven, 
John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George 
Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton  and  Sir  William  Berkeley, 
their  heirs  and  assigns,  by  themselves  or  their  magis- 
trates in  that  behalf,  lawfully  authorized,  full  power 
and  authority  from  time  to  time,  to  make  and  ordain  fit 
and  wholsome  orders  and  ordinances,  within  the  pro- 
vince or  territory  aforesaid,  or  any  county,  barony 
or  province,  within  the  same,  to  be  kept  and  ob- 
served, as  well  for  the  keeping  of  the  peace,  as  for 
the  better  government  of  the  people  there  abiding,  and 
to  publish  the  same  to  all  to  whom  it  may  concern : 
Which  ordinances  we  do,  by  these  presents,  streightly 
charge  and  command  to  be  inviolably  observed  within 
the  same  province,  countys,  territorys,  baronys  and 
provinces,  under  the  penalties  therein  expressed ;  so 
as  such  ordinances  be  reasonable  and  not  repugnant  or 
contrary,  but  as  near  as  may  be  agreeable  to  the  laws 
and  statutes  of  this  our  kingdom  of  Engla'nd  ;  and  so 
as  the  same  ordinances  do  not  extend  to  the  binding, 
charging  or  taking  away  of  the  rights  or  interest  of  any 
person  or  persons,  in  their  freehold,  goods  or  chattels, 
whatsoever. 

And  to  the  end  the  said  province  or  territory,  may  be 
the  more  happily  encreased  by  the  multitude  of  people 
resorting  thither,  and  may  like^\ise  be  the  more  strong- 
ly defended  from  the  incursions  of  savages  and  other 
enemies,  pirates  and  robbers. 


PROPRIETORS- OF  CAROLINA.  46 

Therefore,  We  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  do 
give  and  grant  by  thesepresents,  full  power,  license  and 
liberty  unto  all  the  leige  people  of  us,  our  heirs  and 
successors  in  our  kingdom  of  England,  or  elsewhere, 
within  any  other  our  dominions,  islands  colonies  or 
plantations ;  (excepting  those  who  shall  be  especially 
forbidden)  to  transport  themseh^es  and  families  into  the 
said  province  or  territory,  with  convenient  shipping,  and 
fitting  provisions ;  and  there  to  settle  themselves,  dwell 
and  inhabit,  any  law,  act,  statute,  ordinance,  or  other 
thing  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise,  notwithstanding. 

And  we  will  also,  and  of  our  especial  grace,  for  us, 
our  heirs  and  successors,  do  streightly  enjoyn,  ordain, 
constitute  and  command.  That  the  said  province  or 
territory,  shall  be  of  our  allegiance ;  and  that  all  and 
singular,  the  subjects  and  leige  people  of  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  transported,  or  to  be  transported  into  the 
said  province,  and  the  children  of  them,  and  such  as 
shall  descend  from  them,  there  born,  or  hereafter  to  be 
born,  be,  and  shall  be  denizens  and  leiges  of  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors  of  this  our  kingdom  of  England, 
and  be  in  all  things  held,  treated  and  reputed  as  the 
leige  faithful  people  of  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  born 
within  this  our  said  kingdom,  or  any  other  of  our  do- 
minions ;  and  may  inherit,  or  otherwise  purchase  and 
receive,  take,  hold,  buy  and  possess  any  lands,  tene- 
ments, or  hereditaments,  within  the  said  places,  and 
them  may  occupy,  and  enjoy,  sell,  alien  and  bequeath; 
as  likewise,  all  liberties,  franchises  and  priviledges  of 
this  our  kingdom,  and  of  other  our  dominions  aforesaid, 
may  freely  and  quietly  have,  possess  and  enjoy,  as  our 
leige  people  born  within  the  same,  without  the  molesta- 
tion, vexation,  trouble  or  grievance  of  us,  our  heirs  and 


46  THE  SECOND  CHARTER  TO  THE 

successors,  anj  act,  statute,  ordinance,  provision  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding. 

And  furthermore.  That  our  subjects  of  this  our  said 
kingdom  of  England,  and  other  our  dominions  may  be 
the  rather  encouraged  to  undertake  this  expedition,  with 
ready  and  cheerful  means.  Know  ye,  That  We,  of 
our  especial  grace,  certain  knowledge  and  meer  motion, 
do  give  and  grant  by  virtue  of  these  presents,  as  well  to 
the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of 
Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley, 
Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John 
Colleton,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley  and  their  heirs,  as 
unto  all  others  as  shall,  from  time  to  time,  repair  unto 
the  said  province  or  territory,  with  a  purpose  to  inhabit 
there  or  to  trade  with  the  natives  thereof :  Full  liberty  and 
license  to  lade  and  freight  in  every  port  whatsoever,  of 
us,  our  heirs  and  successors  ;  and  into  the  said  province 
of  Carolina,  by  them,  their  servants  and  assigns,  to 
transport  all  and  singular,  their  goods,  wares  and  mer- 
chandizes ;  as  likewise,  all  sort  of  grain  whatsoever, 
and  any  other  thing  whatsoever,  necessary  for  their 
food  and  cloathing,  not  prohibited  by  the  laws  and 
statutes  of  our  kingdom  and  dominions,  to  be  carried 
out  of  the  same,  without  any  lett  or  molestation  of'  us, 
our  heirs  and  successors,  or  of  any  other  our  officers  or 
ministers  whatsoever ;  Savhig  also  to  us,  our  heirs  and 
successors,  the  customs,  and  other  duties  and  payments 
due  for  the  said  wares  and  merchandizes,  according  to 
the  several  rates  of  the  places  from  whence  the  same 
shall  be  transported. 

We  w^ill  also,  and  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  do  give  and  grant  license  by  this  our 
charter,  unto  the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George 
Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord 


PROPRIETORS  OF  CAROLINA.  47 

Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carter ett, 
Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley,  their  heirs 
and  assigns,  and  to  all  the  inhabitants  and  dwellers  in 
the  province  or  territory  aforesaid,  both  present  and  to 
come,  full  power  and  absolute  authority  to  import  or 
unlade  by  themselves,  or  their  servants,  factors  or 
assigns,  all  merchandizes  and  goods  whatsoever,  that 
shall  arise  of  the  fruits  and  commodities  of  the  said 
province  or  territory,  either  by  land  or  sea,  into  any 
the  ports  of  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  in  our  king- 
dom of  England,  Scotland  or  Ireland,  or  otherwise,  to 
dispose  of  the  said  goods,  in  the  said  ports.  And  if 
need  be,  within  one  year  next  after  the  unlading,  to  lade 
the  said  merchandizes  and  goods  again  into  the  same, 
or  other  ships ;  and  to  export  the  same  into  any  other 
countrys,  either  of  our  dominions  or  forreign,  being  in 
amity  with  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  so  as  they  pay 
such  customs,  subsidies  and  other  duties  for  the  same 
to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  as  the  rest  of  our  sub- 
jects of  this  our  kingdom,  for  the  time  being,  shall  be 
bound  to  pay.  Beyond  which  we  will  not  that  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  said  province  or  territory,  shall  be  any  ways 
charged.  Provided,  nevertheless,  and  our  will  and  plea- 
sure is,  and  we  have  further,  for  the  considerations 
aforesaid,  of  our  special  grace,  certain  knowledge  and 
meer  motion,  given  and  granted,  and  by  these  presents 
for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  do  give  and  grant  unto 
the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of 
Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley, 
Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John 
Colleton  and  Sir  William  Berkeley,  their  heirs  and 
assigns,  full  and  free  license,  liberty,  power  and  autho- 
rity, at  any  time  or  times,  from  and  after  the  feast  of  St 
Michael  the  Arch- Angel,  which  shall  be  in  the  year  of 


48  THE  SECOND  CHARTER  TO  THE 

our  Lord  Christ,  one  thousand  six  hundred,  sixty  and 
seven ;  as  well  to  import  and  bring  into  any  our 
dominions  from  the  said  province  of  Carolina,  or  any 
other  part  thereof,  the  several  goods  and  commodities 
herein  after  mentioned ;  That  is  to  say,  silks,  wines, 
currants,  raysons,  capers,  wax,  almonds,  oyl  and  olives, 
without  paying  or  answering  to  us,  our  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors, any  custom,  imposts,  or  other  duty,  for,  or  in 
respect  thereof,  for  and  during  the  time  and  space  of 
seven  years  to  commence  and  be  accompted  from  and 
after  the  first  importation  of  four  tons  of  any  the  said 
goods,  in  any  one  bottom  ship  or  vessel,  from  the  said 
province  or  territory,  into  any  of  our  dominions  ;  as 
also,  to  export  and  carry  out  of  any  of  our  dominions 
into  the  said  province  or  territory,  custom-free,  all  sorts 
of  tools,  which  shall  be  useful  or  necessary  for  the 
planters  there,  in  the  accommodation  and  improvement 
of  the  premises,  any  thing  before  in  these  presents  con- 
tained, or  any  law,  act,  statute,  prohibition  or  other 
matter  or  thing,  heretofore  had,  made,  enacted  or  pro- 
vided, or  hereafter  to  be  had,  made,  enacted  or  provided, 
in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

And  furthermore,  of  our  more  ample  and  special 
grace,  certain  knowledge  and  meer  motion,  We  do  for 
us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  grant  unto  the  smd  Edward 
Earl  of  Clarendoji,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William 
Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthomj  Lord 
Ashley  Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton  and  Sir 
William  Berkeley,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  full  and  abso- 
lute power  and  authority  to  make,  erect  and  constitute 
within  the  said  province  or  territory,  and  the  isles  and 
islets  aforesaid,  such  and  so  many  sea-ports,  harbours, 
creeks  and  other  places  for  discharge  and  unlading  of 
goods  and  merchandizes  out  of  ships,  boats,  and  other 


PROPRIETORS  OF  CAROLINA.  49 

vessels,  and  for  lading  of  them  in  such,  and  so  many 
places,  as  with  such  jurisdictions,  priviledges,  and  fran- 
chises, unto  the  said  ports  belonging,  as  to  them  shall 
seem  most  expedient;  and  that  all  and  singular,  the 
ships,  boats  and  other  vessels,  which  shall  come  for 
merchandizes,  and  trade  into  the  said  province  or  terri- 
tory, or  shall  depart  out  of  the  same,  shall  be  laden  and 
unladen  at  such  ports  only,  as  shall  be  erected  and  con- 
stituted by  the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George 
Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord 
Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett, 
Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley,  their 
heirs  and  assigns,  and  not  elsewhere,  any  use,  custom, 
or  any  thing  to  the  contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstand- 
ing- 

And  we  do  furthermore  will,  appoint  and  ordain,  and 
by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  do 
grant  unto  the  said  Edrvard  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George 
Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord 
Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir 
John  Colleton  and  Sir  William  Berkeley,  their  heirs  and 
assigns,  That  they  the  said  Edrvard  Earl  of  Clarendon, 
George  Duke  of  Alhemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven, 
John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George 
Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley^ 
their  heirs  and  assigns,  may  from  time  to  time,  for  ever, 
have  and  enjoy  the  customs  and  subsidies  in  the  ports, 
harbours,  creeks,  and  other  places  within  the  province 
aforesaid,  payable  for  the  goods,  merchandizes  and  wares 
there  laded,  or  to  be  laded  or  unladed,  the  said  customs  to 
be  reasonably  assessed  upon  any  occasion  by  them- 
selves, and  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  free  people, 
or  the  greater  part  of  them  as  aforesaid ;  to  whom  we 
give  power  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  sue- 

7 


50  THE  SECOND  CHARTER  TO  THE 

cessors,  upon  just  cause  and  in  due  proportion  to  assess 
and  impose  the  same. 

And  further,  of  our  especial  grace,  certain  knowledge 
and  meer  motion,  we  have  given,  granted  and  confirmed, 
and  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors, 
do  give,  grant,  and  confirm  unto  the  said  Edward  Earl 
of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albetnarle,  William  Earl 
of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley, 
Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  their  hens  and  assigns,  fall  and  absolute 
power,  hcense  and  authority,  that  they  the  said  Edward 
Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William 
Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ash- 
ley, Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  Wil- 
liam Bei'keley,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  from  time  to  time, 
hereafter  for  ever,  at  his  and  their  will  and  pleasure, 
may  assign,  alien  grant,  demise  or  enfeoff  the  premises 
or  any  part  or  parcell  thereof  to  him  or  them,  that  shall 
be  willing  to  purchase  the  same ;  and  to  such  person 
and  persons,  as  they  shall  thuik  fit,  to  have,  and  to  hold 
to  them  the  said  person  or  persons,  their  heirs  and 
assigns  in  fee  simple  or  in  fee  tayle,  or  for  the  term  of 
life  or  lives,  or  years  to  be  held  of  them,  the  said 
Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony 
Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton  and 
Sir  William  Berkeley,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  by  such 
rents,  services  and  customs,  as  shall  seem  fit  to  them  the 
said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albe- 
marle, William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  An- 
thony hoid  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colle- 
ton, and  Sir  William  Berkeley,  their  heirs  and  assigns, 
and  not  of  us,  our  heirs  and  successors :  And  to  the  same 
person  and  persons,  and  to  all  and  every  of  them,  we  do 


PROPRIETORS  OF  CAROLINA.  51 

give  and  grant  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors, hcense  authority  and  power,  that  such  person  or 
persons,  may  have  and  take  the  premises,  or  any  parcel 
thereof,  of  the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George 
Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord 
Berkeley,  Anthony  hord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carte7'ett,  Sir 
John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley,  their  heirs 
and  assigns,  and  the  same  to  hold  to  themselves,  their 
heirs  and  assigns,  in  what  state  of  inheritance  soever,  in 
fee  simple,  or  fee  tayle,  or  otherwise,  as  to  them  the  said 
Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony 
Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and 
Sir  William  Berkeley,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  shall 
seem  expedient.  The  statute  in  the  parliament  of 
Edward,  son  of  King  Henry,  heretofore  king  of 
England,  our  predecessor,  commonly  called  the  statute 
of  Quia  Emptores  Terrar ;  or  any  other  statute,  act, 
ordinance,  use,  law,  custom,  or  any  other  matter,  cause 
or  thing  heretofore  published  or  provided  to  the  con- 
trary in  any  wise  notwithstanding. 

And  because  many  persons  born  and  inhabiting  in  the 
said  province  for  their  deserts  and  services  may  expect, 
and  be  capable  of  marks  of  honour  and  favour,  which 
m  respect  to  the  great  distance  cannot  conveniently  be 
conferred  by  us ;  our  will  and  pleasure  therefore  is,  and 
we  do  by  these  presents,  give  and  grant  imto  the  said 
Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
William  Lord  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord 
Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett  Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir 
William  Berkeley,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  full  power 
and  authority  to  give  and  confer  unto,  and  upon  such 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  province,  or  territory,  as 
they  shall  think,  do,  or  shall  merit  the  same,  such  marks 


52  THE  SECOND  CHARTER  TO  THE 

of  favour,  and  titles  of  honour,  as  they  shall  think  fit,  so 
as  their  titles  or  honours  be  not  the  same  as  are  enjoyed 
by,  or  conferred  upon  any  of  the  subjects  of  this  our 
kingdom  of  England. 

And  further  also,  we  do  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors,  give  and  grant,  license  to  them 
the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of 
Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley, 
Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John 
Colleton,  and  Sir  WilliamBerkeley ,  their  heirs  and  assigns, 
full  power,  liberty  and  hcense,  to  erect,  raise  and  build 
within  the  said  province  and  places  aforesaid,  or  any 
part  or  parts  thereof,  such  and  so  many  forts,  fortresses, 
castles,  cities,  burroughs,  towns,  villages  and  other  for- 
tifications whatsoever ;  and  the  same  or  any  of  them 
to  fortify  and  furnish  with  ordnance,  powder,  shot, 
armour  and  all  other  weapons,  ammunition  and  habili- 
ments of  v/ar,  both  defensive  and  ofiensive,  as  shall  be 
thought  fit  and  convenient  for  the  safety  and  welfare  of 
the  said  province  and  places,  or  any  part  thereof;  And 
the  same,  or  any  of  them,  from  time  to  time,  as  occasion 
shall  require,  to  dismantle,  disfumish,  demolish  and  pull 
dovni ;  And  also  to  place,  constitute  and  appoint  in,  or 
over  all,  or  any  of  the  said  castles,  forts,  fortifications, 
cities,  towns  and  places  aforesaid,  governors,  deputy 
governors,  magistrates,  sheriffs  and  other  officers,  civil 
and  military,  as  to  them  shall  seem  meet ;  And  to  the 
said  cities,  burroughs,  towns,  villages,  or  any  other 
place,  or  places,  within  the  said  province  or  territory,  to 
grant  letters  or  charters  of  incorporation,  with  all  liber- 
ties, franchises  and  priviledges  requisite,  or  usual,  or  to, 
or  within  this  our  kingdom  of  Englajid  granted,  or 
belonging ;  And  in  the  same  cities,  burroughs,  towns  and 
other  places,  to  constitute,  erect  and  appoint  such,  and 


PROPRIETORS  OF  CAROLINA.  53 

SO  many  markets,  marts  and  fairs,  as  shall  in  that  behalf 
be  thought  fit  and  necessary ;  And  further  also,  to  erect 
and  make  in  the  province  or  territory  aforesaid,  or  any 
part  thereof,  so  many  manners  with  such  signories  as  to 
them  shall  seem  meet  and  convenient,  and  in  every  of 
the  same  manners  to  have  and  to  hold  a  court-baron 
with  all  things  whatsoever,  which  to  a  court  baron  do 
belong,  and  to  have  and  to  hold  views  of  frank  pledge, 
and  courts  leet,  for  the  conservation  of  the  peace,  and 
better  government  of  those  parts,  with  such  limits,  juris- 
diction and  precincts,  as  by  the  said  Edward  Earl  of 
Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl  of 
Craveii,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Antli07iy  Lord  Ashley,  Sir 
George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  or  their  heirs,  shall  be  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose, with  all  things  whatsoever,  which  to  a  court  leet, 
or  view  of  frank  pledge,  do  belong;  the  same  courts  to 
be  holden  by  stewards,  to  be  deputed  and  authorized  by 
the  said  Edrvard  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of 
Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley, 
Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John 
Colleton,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley,  or  their  heirs,  by  the 
lords  of  the  manners  and  leets,  for  the  time  being,  when 
the  same  shall  be  erected. 

And  because  that  in  so  remote  a  country,  and  scituate 
among  so  many  barbarous  nations,  the  invasions  as  well 
of  savages  as  other  enemies,  pirates,  and  robbers  may 
probably  be  feared ;  Therefore  we  have  given,  and  for 
us,  our  heirs  and  successors  do  give  power  by  these  pre- 
sents, unto  the  said  Edward  YidiYl  of  Clarendon,  George 
Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Craven,  John 
Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Car- 
terett, Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley,  their 


54         THE  SECOND  CHARTER  TO  THE 

heirs  or  assigns  by  themselves,  or  their  captains,  or  other 
officers  to  levj,  muster  and  train,  up  all  sorts  of  men,  of 
what  condition  soever,  or  wheresoever  born,  whether  in 
the  said  province,  or  elsewhere,  for  the  time  being ;  And 
to  make  war  and  pursue  the  enemies  aforesaid,  as  well 
by  sea,  as  by  land ;  yea,  even  without  the  limits  of  the 
said  province,  and  by  God's  assistance,  to  vanquish  and 
take  them,  and  being  taken,  to  put  them  to  death  by  the 
law  of  war,  and  to  save  them  at  their  pleasure  ;  And  to 
do  all  and  every  other  thing,  which  to  the  charge  and 
office  of  a  captain  general  of  an  army  belongeth,  or 
hath  accustomed  to  belong,  as  fully  and  freely  as  any 
captain  general  of  an  army  hath  had  the  same. 

Also,  our  will  and  pleasure  is,  and  by  this  our  charter, 
we  do  give  and  grant  unto  the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Cla- 
rendon, George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  hoid  Craven, 
John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George 
Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley, 
their  heirs  and  assigns,  full  power,  hberty  and  authority 
in  case  of  rebellion,  tumult  or  sedition  (if  any  should 
happen,  which  God  forbid)  either  upon  the  land  within 
the  province  aforesaid,  or  upon  the  main  sea,  in.  making 
a  voyage  thither,  or  returning  from  thence,  by  him  and 
themselves,  their  captains,  deputies  or  officers,  to  be 
authorized  under  his  or  their  seals,  for  that  purpose : 
To  whom  also  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  we  do 
give  and  grant  by  these  presents,  full  power  and  author- 
ity to  exercise  martial  law  against  mutinous  and  seditious 
persons  of  those  parts ;  such  as  shall  refuse  to  submit 
themselves  to  their  government,  or  shall  refuse  to  serve 
in  the  wars,  or  shall  fly  to  the  enemy  or  forsake  their 
colours  or  ensigns,  or  be  loyterers  or  straglers,  or  other- 
wise howsoever  offending  against  discipline,  as  freely^ 


PROPRIETORS  OF  CAROLINA.  55 

and  in  as  ample  manner  and  form  as  any  captain 
general  of  an  army,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  miglit,  or 
hath  accustomed  to  use  the  same. 

And  our  further  pleasure  is,  and  by  these  presents, 
for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  we  do  grant  unto  the  said 
Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony 
Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and 
Sir  William  Berkeley,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  and  to  the 
tenants  and  inhabitants  of  the  said  province,  or  territory, 
both  present  and  to  come,  and  to  every  of  them,  that  the 
said  province  or  territory,  and  the  tenants  and  inhabi- 
tants thereof,  shall  not  from  henceforth,  be  held  or 
reputed  any  member,  or  part  of  any  colony  v^hatsoever, 
in  America  or  elsewhere,  now  transported  or  made, 
or  hereafter  to  be  transported  or  made;  nor  shall  be 
depending  on,  or  subject  to  their  government  in  any 
thing,  but  be  absolutely  separated  and  divided  from  the 
same :  And  our  pleasure  is  by  these  presents,  that  they 
be  separated,  and  that  they  be  subject  immediately  to 
our  crown  of  England,  as  depending  thereof  for  ever. 
And  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  province  or  terri- 
tory, nor  any  of  them,  shall  at  any  time  hereafter,  be 
compelled  or  compellable,  or  be  any  ways  subject,  or 
liable  to  appear  or  answer  to  any  matter,  suit,  cause,  or 
plaint  whatsoever,  out  of  the  province  or  territory  afore- 
said, in  any  other  of  our  islands,  collonies  or  dominions 
in  America,  or  elsewhere,  other  than  in  our  realm  of 
England  and  dominion  of  Wales. 

And  because  it  may  happen,  that  some  of  the  people 
and  inhabitants  of  the  said  province,  cannot  in  their  pri- 
vate opinions  conform  to  the  pubhck  Exercise  of  religion 
according  to  the  liturgy,  forms  and  ceremonies  of  the 
church  of  England,  or  take  or  subscribe  the  oaths  and 


56  THE  SECOND  CHARTER  TO  THE 

articles  made  and  established  in  that  behalf:  And  for 
that  the  same,  by  reason  of  the  remote  distances  of  those 
places  will  as  we  hope,  be  no  breach  of  the  unity,  and 
conformity,  established  in  this  nation;  our  will  and 
pleasure  therefore  is,  and  we  do  by  these  presents  for 
"US,  our  heirs  and  successors,  give  and  grant  unto  the  said 
Edward,  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
William  YidoiX' oi  Craven,  John  hord  Berkelei/,  Anthony 
Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carter ett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and 
Sir  William  Berkeley,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  fall  and 
free  license,  liberty  and  authority,  by  such  ways  and 
means  as  they  shall  think  fit,  to  give  and  grant  unto 
such  person  and  persons,  inhabiting  and  bemg  within 
the  said  province  or  territory,  hereby  or  by  the  said  re- 
cited letters  patents,  mentioned  to  be  granted  as  afore- 
said, or  any  part  thereof,  such  mdulgencies  and  dispen- 
sations, in  that  behalf,  for,  and  during  such  time  and 
times,  and  with  such  limitations  and  restrictions  as  they 
the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon,  George  Duke  oii  Albe- 
marle, Williamljord  Craven,  JohihordBerlcy ley,  Anthony 
Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carter  ett.  Sir  John  Colleton,  and 
Sir  William  Berkeley,  their  heirs  or  assigns,  shall  in 
their  discretion  think  fit  and  reasonable.  And  that  no 
person  or  persons,  unto  whom  such  liberty  shall  be 
given,  shall  be  any  way  molested,  punished,  disquieted, 
or  called  in  question  for  any  differences  in  opinion  or 
practice,  in  matters  of  religious  concernment,  who  do  not 
actually  disturb  the  civil  peace  of  the  province,  county  or 
colony,  that  they  shall  make  their  abode  in.  But  all  and 
every  such  person  and  persons,  may  from  time  to  time 
and  at  all  times,  freely  and  quietly  have  and  enjoy  his 
and  their  judgments  and  consciences,  in  matters  of  re- 
ligion, throughout  all  the  said  province  or  colony,  they 
behaving  themselves  peacefully,  and  not  using  this  liberty 


PROPRIETORS  OF  CAROLINA.  67 

to  licentiousness,  nor  to  the  civil  injury  or  outward  dis 
turbance  of  others.     Any  law,  statute  or  clause  contain- 
ed, or  to  be  contained,  usage  or  customs  of  our  realm  of 
England  to  the  contrary  hereof  in  any  wise,  notwith- 
standing. 

And  in  case  it  shall  happen,  that  any  doubts  or  ques- 
tions should  arise  concerning  the  true  sense  and  under- 
standing of  any  word,  clause,  or  sentence,  contained  in 
this  our  present  charter,  we  will,  ordain,  and  command, 
that  at  all  times,  and  in  all  things,  such  interpretations  be 
made  thereof,  and  allowed  in  all  and  every  of  our  courts 
whatsoever,  as  lawfully  may  be  adjudged  most  advan- 
tageous and  favourable  to  the  said  Edward  Earl  of  Cla- 
rendon, George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Earl  of  Cra- 
ven, John  Lord  Berkeley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir 
George  Carterett,  Sir  John  Colleton,  and  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  although  express 
mention,  &c. 

Witness  our  Self  at  Westvninster,  the  thirtieth  day 
of  June,  in  the  seventeenth  year  of  our  reign. 

Per  ipsum  Regem. 


OR    A 


DESCRIPTION 


OF    THE 

PRESENT  STATE   OF  THAT  COUNTRY, 

AND 

THE   NATURAL   EXCELLENCIES    THEROF; 

NAMELY, 

THE  HEALTHFULNESS  OF  THE  AIR,    PLEASANTNESS  OF  THE  PLACE,    ADVAN- 
TAGES   AND    USEFULNESS    OF    THOSE    RICH    COMMODITIES    THERE 
PLENTIFULLY     ABOUNDING,    "WHICH    MUCH    ENCREjVSE 
AND    FLOURISH  BY    THE   INDUSTRY    OF    THE 
PLANTERS  THAT  DAILY  ENLARGE 
THAT  COLONY. 


PUBLISHED    BY  T.  A.   Gent. 

Clirk  on  board  his  Majesties  Ship  the  Richmond, 


WHICH  "WAS  SENT  OUT  IN  THE  YEAR  IboO,  WITH  PARTICULAR  INSTRUCTIONS 

TO    ENQUIRE   INTO    THE    STATE    OF   THAT    COUNTRY    BY   HIS 

MAJESTIES    SPECIAL    COMMAND,    AND    RETURN'd 

THIS   PRESENT  YEAR,    1682. 


LONDON, 

Printed  for  W.  C.  and  to  be  Sold  by  Mrs.  Grover,  in  Pelican  Court, 

in  Little  Britain,  1683. 


TO    THE    READER. 

Reader, 

You  may  please  to  understand,  that  the  first  Discovery  of  this  Country 
was  at  the  Charge  of  King  Henry  the  Seventh,  as  you  will  find  in  this  Book ; 
and  that  as  it  hath  pleased  God  to  add  such  a  Jewel  to  the  Crown  of  England, 
so  I  doubt  not  but  in  a  few  years  it  will  prove  the  most  Beneficial  to  the  King- 
dom in  General  of  any  Colony  yet  Planted  by  the  English,  which  is  the  more 
probable  from  the  great  Concourse  that  daily  arrives  there.  From  the  other 
Plantations,  as  well  as  from  England,  Ireland,  &;c.  being  drawn  and  invited 
thither  by  the  Healthfulness  of  Air,  Delicacy  of  Fruits,  the  likelyhood  of 
Wines,  Oyls  and  Silks,  and  the  great  Variety  of  other  Natural  Commodities 
within  specified  ;  which  well  considered,  will  sufficiently  evidence  the  Truth 
of  what  I  Assert.  That  I  may  contribute  what  lies  in  my  Power  for  a  further 
Satisfaction  to  those  Gentlemen  that  are  curious  concerning  the  Country  of 
Carolina,  they  may  find  a  small  Description  thereof,  with  a  Map  of  the  first 
Draught,  Published  by  Mr.  Richard  Blome,  and  Printed  for  Dorman  Newman, 
in  the  Year  1678,  in  Octavo,  and  one  larger  in  Mr.  Ogleby's  America ;  since 
the  publishing  of  these,  there  is  by  Order  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  newly  pub- 
lished in  one  large  Sheet  of  Paper,  a  very  spacious  Map  of  Carolina,  with  its 
Rivers,  Harbors,  Plantations,  and  other  Accommodations,  from  the  latest  Sur- 
vey, and  best  Informations,  with  a  large  and  particular  Description  of  the 
Entrances  into  Ashly  and  Cooper  Rivers  ;  this  Map  to  be  Sold  for  Is.  by  Joel 
Gascoyne,  near  Wapping  Old  Stairs,  and  Robert  Green  in  Budge  Row,  Lon- 
don, 1682. 


COMPLEAT    DISCOVERY 


OF    THE 


STATE    OF    CAROLINA, 


IN   THE  YEAR  1682. 


The^  Discourses  of  many  Ingenious  Travellers  (who 
have  lately  seen  this  part  of  the  West  Indies)  have  for 
Salubrity  of  Air,  Fertility  of  Soyl,  for  the  Luxuriant 
and  Indulgent  Blessings  of  Nature,  justly  rendered 
Carolina  Famous.  So  that  since  my  Arrival  at  London, 
I  have  observed  many  with  pleasing  Ideas,  and  Contem- 
plations, as  if  ravisht  with  Admiration,  discourse  of  its 
Pleasures.  Whilst  others  more  actively  prest  and 
stimulated,  have  with  vehement  and  ardent  Desires 
willingly  resolved  to  hazard  their  Lives,  Families,  and 
Fortunes  to  the  Mercy  of  the  Wind,  Seas  and  Storms, 
to  enjoy  the  Sweets  of  so  desirable  a  Being. 

Having  spent  near  three  Years  Abroad,  in  which 
time  I  had  a  fair  Opportunity  of  a  Survey  of  great  part 
of  our  English  America.  You  my  Worthy  Friend, 
knowing  in  what  Character  I  went  abroad,  and  under- 
standing of  my  being  at  Carolina,  did  obligingly  request 
(that  at  leisure)  I  w^ould  collect  such  Notices  of  my 
own  whilst  there,  with  those  Remarques  and  Observa- 


62  A    COMPLETE    DISCOVERY    OF    THE 

tions  which  I  had  learnt  from  the  most  Able  and  Inge- 
nious Planters,  who  have  had  their  Residence  on  the 
place  from  the  first  being  Coloniz'd :  You  desiring  to 
be  assured  Whether  the  true  State  of  the  Country  did 
answer  the  Reports  of  Common  Fame.  Which  in 
Compliance  with,  and  in  Obedience  to  your  Commands, 
I  have  undertaken. 

Carolina  derives  her  name  either  from  our  present 
Illustrious  Monarch,  under  whose  glorious  Auspices  it 
was  first  establisht  an  English  Colony,  in  the  Year  One 
Thousand  Six  Hundred  and  Seventv,  and  under  whose 
benign  and  happy  Influence  it  now  prospers  and  flou- 
rishes. Or  from  Charles  the  Ninth  of  that  Name 
King  of  France,  in  whose  Reign  a  Colony  of  French 
Protestants  were  transported  thither,  at  the  encourage- 
ment of  Gasper  Coligni,  Admiral  of  that  Kingdom ;  the 
place  of  their  first  Settlement  named  in  Honour  of  their 
Prince  Arx  Carolina ;  but  not  long  after,  that  Colony, 
with  Monsieur  Ribault  their  Leader,  were  by  the 
Spaniard  at  once  cut  off"  and  destroy'd.  Since  which, 
nor  French,  nor  Spaniard  have  made  any  Attempt  for 
its  Re-Settlement. 

Carolina  is  the  Nethermost  part  of  the  spacious  and 
pleasant  Province  of  Florida ;  it  lies  in  the  Northern 
Temperate  Zone,  between  the  Latitude  of  Twenty  Nine 
and  Thirty  Six  Degrees,  and  Thirty  Minutes :  It 's  bound- 
ed on  the  East,  wdth  the  Atlantic,  or  Northern,  on  the 
West,  with  the  Pacifick,  or  Southern  Ocean,  on  the  North 
with  Virginia,  on  the  South  with  the  remaining  part  of 
Florida.  The  Air  of  so  serene  and  excellent  a  temper,  that 
the  Indian  Natives  prolong  their  days  to  the  Extremity  of 
Old  Age.  And  where  the  English  hitherto  have  found  no 
Distempers  either  Epidemical  or  Mortal,  but  what  have 
had  their  Rise  from  Excess  or  Origine  from  Intempe- 


STATE    OF    CAROLINA.  63 

ranee.  In  July  and  August  they  Have  sometimes  touches 
of  Agues  and  Fevers,  but  not  violent,  of  short  continu- 
ance, and  never  Fatal.  English  Children  there  born, 
are  commonly  strong  and  lusty,  of  Sound  Constitutions, 
and  fresh  ruddy  Complexions. 

The  Seasons  are  regularly  disposed  according  to 
Nature's  Laws ;  the  Summer  not  so  torrid,  hot  and 
burning  as  that  of  their  Southern,  nor  the  Winter  so 
rigorously  sharp  and  cold,  as  that  of  their  Northern 
Neighbours.  In  the  Evenings  and  Mornings  of  De- 
cember and  January,  thin  congealed  Ice,  with  hoary 
Frosts  sometimes  appear,  but  as  soon  as  the  Sun  ele- 
vates herself,  above  the  Horizon,  as  soon  they  disap- 
pear and  vanish:  Snow  having  been  seen  but  twice 
in  ten  Years,  or  from  its  first  being  settled  by  the 
English. 

The  Soyl  near  the  Sea,  of  a  Mould  Sandy,  farther 
distant,  more  clayey,  or  Sand  and  Clay  mixt ;  the  Land 
lies  upon  a  Level  in  fifty  or  sixty  Miles  round,  having 
scarce  the  least  Hill  or  Eminency.  It;'s  cloathed  with 
odoriferous  and  fragrant  Woods,  flourishing  in  perpetual 
and  constant  Verdures,  viz.  the  lofty  Pine,  the  sweet 
smelling  Cedar  and  Cyprus  Trees,  of  both  which  are 
composed  goodly  Boxes,  Chests,  Tables,  Scrittores,  and 
Cabinets. 

The  Dust  and  Shavings  of  Cedar,  laid  amongst  Lin- 
nen  or  Woollen,  destroys  the  Moth  and  all  Verminous 
Insects ;  It  never  rots,  breeding  no  Worm,  by  which 
many  other  Woods  are  consumed  and  destroyed.  Of 
Cedar  there  are  many  Sorts;  this  in  Carolina  is 
esteemed  of  equal  Goodness  for  Grain,  Smell  and 
Colour  with  the  Bermudian  Cedar,  which  of  all  the 
West  Indian  is  esteemed  the  most  excellent :  that  in 
the  Carribbe  Islands  and  Jamaica  being  of  a  courser 


64  A    COMPLETE    DISCOVERY    OF    THE 

kind,  Oyl  and  the  Spirit  of  Wine  penetrating  it;  but 
with  this  the  J  make  Heading  for  their  Cask,  which  the 
sharpest  and  most  searching  Liquors  does  not  pierce. 
With  the  Berry  of  the  Tree  at  Bermudaz,  by  Decoc- 
tion, they  make  a  very  wholesome  and  sovereign 
Drink.  This  Tree  in  the  Sacred  Writ  is  famous,  espe- 
cially those  of  Lebanon,  for  their  Stately  Stature  ;  but 
those  in  the  West  Indies  I  observed  to  be  of  a  low 
and  humble  height.  The  Sassafrass  is  a  Medicinal 
Tree,  whose  Bark  and  Leaves  yield  a  pleasing  Smell : 
It  profits  in  all  Diseases  of  the  Blood  and  Liver,  parti- 
cularly in  all  Venereal  and  Scorbutick  Distempers. 
There  are  many  other  Fragrant  smelling  trees,  the 
Myrtle,  Bay  and  Lawrel,  several  Others  to  us  wholly 
unknown.  Fruit  Trees  there  are  in  abundance  of 
various  and  excellent  kinds,  the  Orange,  Lemon,  Pome- 
granate, Fig  and  Almond.  Of  Enghsh  Fruits,  the 
Apple,  Pear,  Plum,  Cherry,  Quince,  Peach,  a  sort  of 
Medlar  and  Chesnut.  Wallnut  Trees  there  are  of  two 
or  three  sorts  :  but  the  Black  Wallnut  for  its  Grain,  is 
most  esteem'd :  the  Wild  Wallnut  or  Hiquery-Tree, 
gives  the  Indians,  by  boyling  its  Kernel,  a  wholesome 
Oyl,  from  whom  the  English  frequently  supply  them- 
selves for  their  Kitchen  uses  :  It 's  commended  for  a 
good  Remedy  in  Dolors,  and  Gripes  of  the  Belly; 
whilst  new  it  has  a  pleasant  Taste ;  but  after  Six 
Months,  it  decays  and  grows  acid;  I  believe  it  might 
make  a  good  Oyl,  and  of  as  general  an  use  as  that  of 
the  Olive,  if  it  were  better  purified  and  rectified.  The 
Chincopin  Tree  bears  a  Nut  not  unlike  the  Hazle,  the 
shell  is  softer :  Of  the  Kernel  is  made  Chocolate,  not 
much  inferior  to  that  made  of  the  Cacoa. 

The  Peach  Tree  in  incredible  Numbers  grows  wild  : 
Of  the  Fruit  express'd,  the  Planters  compose  a  pleasant 


STATE    OF    CAROLINA.  65 

refreshing  Liquor;  the  Remainder  of  the  Fruit  serves 
the  Hogg  and  Cattle  for  Provision.  The  Mulberry- 
Tree  every  where  amidst  the  Woods  grows  wild :  The 
Planters,  near  their  Plantations,  in  Rows  and  Walks, 
plant  them  for  Use,  Ornament  and  Pleasure  :  What  I 
observed  of  this  Fruit  was  admirable :  the  Fruit 
there,  was  full  and  ripe  in  the  latter  end  of  April  and 
beginning  of  May,  whereas  in  England  and  Europe, 
they  are  not  ripe  before  the  latter  end  of  August. 

A  Manufactory  of  Silk  well  encouraged  might  soon  be 
accomplisht,  considering  the  numerousness  of  the  Leaf 
for  Provision,  the  clemency  and  moderateness  of  the 
Climate  to  indulge  and  nourish  the  Silk-worm :  To 
make  tryal  of  its  Success,  was  the  Intention  of  those 
French  Protestant  Passengers  transported  thither  in  His 
Majesties  Frigat  the  Richmond  being  Forty-Five,  the 
half  of  a  greater  Number  designed  for  that  place  ;  but 
their  Design  was  too  early  anticipated :  the  Eggs 
which  they  brought  with  them'  being  hatch'd  at  Sea,  be- 
fore we  could  reach  the  Land,  the  Worms  for  want  of 
Provision  were  untimely  lost  and  destroyed.  The 
Olive  Tree  thrives  there  very  well.  Mr.  James 
Colleton,  Brother  to  Sir  Peter,  one  of  the  Honourable 
Proprietors,  brought  an  Olive  Stick  from  Fyall  (one  of 
the  Western  Islands)  cutt  off  at  both  Ends  to  Carolina, 
which  put  into  the  Ground,  grew  and  prospered  ex- 
ceedingly ;  which  gave  so  great  an  Encouragement, 
that  since  I  left  the  place,  I  hear  that  several  more 
were  brought  there,  there  being  great  Hopes,  that 
if  the  Olive  be  well  improved,  there  may  be  expect- 
ed from  thence  perhaps  as  good  Oyl  as  any  the  World 
yields. 

Vines  of  divers  sorts,  bearing  both  Black  and  Gray 
Grapes,  grow,   climbing  their  highest  Trees,  running 

9 


66  A    COMPLETE    DISCOVERY    OF    THE 

and  over-spreading  their  lower  Bushes :  Five  Kinds 
they  have  already  distinguish'd,  three  of  which  by  Re- 
plantation, and  if  well  cultivated,  they  own,  will  make 
very  good  Wine  ;  some  of  which  has  been  transported 
for  England,  which  by  the  best  Pallates  was  well  ap- 
proved of,  and  more  is  daily  expected,  't  is  not  doubted, 
if  the  Planters  as  industriously  prosecute  the  Propaga- 
tion of  Vineyards  as  they  have  begun;  but  Carolina 
will  in  a  little  time  prove  a  Magazine  and  Staple  for 
Wines  to  the  whole  West  Indies ;  and  to  enrich  their 
Variety,  some  of  the  Proprietors  and  Planters  have  sent 
them  the  Noblest  and  Excellentest  Vines  of  Europe, 
viz,  the  Rhenish,  Clarret,  the  Muscadel  and  Canary, 
&c. 

His  Majesty,  to  improve  so  hopeful  a  Design,  gave 
those  French  we  carried  over  their  Passage  free  for 
themselves,  Wives,  Children  Goods  and  Servants, 
they  being  most  of  them  well  experienced  in  the  Nature 
of  the  Vine,  from  whose  Directions  doubtless  the 
English  have  received  and  made  considerable  Advan- 
tages in  their  Improvements. 

Trees  for  the  Service  of  Building  Houses  and  Ship- 
ping, besides  those  and  many  more  which  we  have 
notnam'd;  they  have  all  such  as  we  in  England 
esteem  Good,  Lasting  and  Serviceable,  as  the  Oak  of 
three  sorts,  the  White,  Black  and  Live  Oak,  which  for 
Toughness,  and  the  Goodness  of  its  Grain  is  much 
esteemed :  Elm,  iVsh,  Beech,  and  Poplar,  &c.  Into 
the  Nature,  Qualities,  and  Vertues  of  their  Herbs, 
Roots  and  Flowers,  w^e  had  little  time  to  make  any 
curious  Enquiry :  This  we  were  assured  by  many  of 
the  knowing  Planters,  that  they  had  variety  of  such 
whose  Medicinal  Vertues  were  rare  and  admirable. 
The  China  grows  plentifully  there,  whose  Root  infus'd 


STATE    OF    CAROLINA.  67 

yields  us  that  pleasant  Drink,  which  we  know  by  the 
Name  of  China  Ale  in  England :  in  Medicinal  Uses 
it 's  far  more  excellent.  Monsieur  Tavernier,  in  his 
late  Voyages  to  Persia,  observes  that  Nation,  by  the 
frequent  use  of  Water,  in  which  this  Root  is  boyl'd,  are 
never  troubled  with  the  Stone  or  Gout :  It  mundifies 
and  sweetens  the  Blood.  It 's  good  in  Fevers,  Scurvy, 
Gonorrhoea,  and  the  Lues  Venerea.  They  have  three 
sorts  of  the  Rattle-Snake  Root  which  I  have  seen; 
the  Comous,  or  Hairy,  the  Smooth,  the  Nodous,  or 
Knotted  Root :  All  which  are  lactiferous,  or  yielding  a 
Milkie  Juice;  and  if  I  do  not  very  much  in  my  Ob- 
servations err,  the  Leaves  of  all  these  Roots  of  a 
Heart  had  the  exact  Resemblance  :  They  are  all  So- 
vereign against  the  Mortal  Bites  of  that  Snake,  too 
frequent  in  the  West  Indies. 

In  all  Pestilential  Distempers,  as  Plague,  Small  Pox, 
and  malignant  Fevers  it's  a  Noble  Specifick;  when 
stung,  they  eat  the  Root,  applying  it  to  the  venomous 
Wound;  or  they  boyl  the  Roots  in  Water;  which 
drunk,  fortifies  and  corroborates  the  Heart,  exciting 
strong  and  generous  Sweats :  by  which  endangered 
Nature  is  relieved ;  and  the  Poyson  carried  off,  and  ex- 
pelled. 

Gardens  as  yet  they  have  not  much  improved  or 
minded,  their  Designs  having  otherwise  more  profitably 
engaged  them  in  settling  and  cultivating  their  Planta- 
tions with  good  Provisions  and  numerous  Stocks  of 
Cattle  ;  which  two  things  by  Planters  are  esteemed  the 
Basis  and  Props  of  all  new  Plantations  and  Settlements  ; 
before  which  be  well  accomplished  and  performed,  no- 
thing to  any  purpose  can  be  effected ;  and  upon  which 
all  Intentions,  Manufactories,  &c.  have  their  necessary 
Dependance.     But  now  their  Gardens  begin  to  be  sup- 


68  A    COMPLETE    DISCOVERY    OF    THE 

plied  with  such  European  Plants  and  Herbs  as  are 
necessary  for  the  Kitchen,  viz.  Potatoes,  Lettice,  Cole- 
worts,  Parsnip,  Turnip,  Carrot  and  Reddish :  Their 
Gardens  also  begin  to  be  beautified  and  adorned  with 
such  Herbs  and  Flowers  which  to  the  Smell  or  Eye  are 
pleasing  and  agreable,  viz.  the  Rose,  Tulip,  Carnation 
and  Lilly,  &c.  Their  Provision  which  grows  in  the 
Field  is  chiefly  Indian  Corn,  which  produces  a  vast  In- 
crease, yearly,  yielding  Two  plentiful  Harvests,  of 
which  they  make  wholesome  Bread,  and  good  Bisket, 
which  gives  a  strong,  sound  and  nourishing  Diet;  with 
Milk  I  have  eaten  it  dress'd  various  ways  :  Of  the  Juice 
of  the  Corn,  when  green,  the  Spaniards  with  Chocolet, 
aromatiz'd  with  Spices,  make  a  rare  Drink  of  an  excellent 
Delicacy.  I  have  seen  the  English  amongst  the  Carribbes 
roast  the  green  Ear  on  the  Coals,  and  eat  it  with  a  great 
deal  of  Pleasure  :  The  Indians  in  Carolina  parch  the  ripe 
Corn,  then  pound  it  to  a  Powder,  putting  it  in  a  Leathern 
Bag :  When  they  use  it,  they  take  a  little  quantity  of 
the  Powder  in  the  Palms  of  their  Hands,  mixing  it  with 
Water,  and  sup  it  off;  with  this  they  will  travel  several 
days.  In  short,  it 's  a  Grain  of  General  Use  to  Man 
and  Beast,  many  thousands  of  both  kinds  in  the  West 
Indies  having  from  it  the  greater  part  of  their  Subsis- 
tence. The  American  Physicians  observe  that  it  breeds 
good  Blood,  removes  and  opens  Oppellations  and 
Obstructions.  At  Carolina  they  have  lately  invented  a 
way  of  makeing  with  it  good  sound  Beer;  but  it 's 
strong  and  heady :  By  Maceration,  when  duly  fer- 
mented, a  strong  Spirit  like  Brandy  may  be  drawn  off 
from  it,  by  the  help  of  an  Alembick. 

Pulse  they  have  of  great  variety,  not  only  of  what 
Europe  yield,  viz.  Beans,  Pease,  Callavance,  Figdlaes 
and  Bonavist,  &c.  but  many  other  kinds  proper  to  the 


STATE  OF  CAROLINA.  69 

place,  and  to  us  -unknown :  Green  Pease  at  the  latter 
end  of  April,  at  my  being  there,  I  eat  as  good  as  ever  I 
did  in  England ;  Strawberries,  Rasberries,  Billberries  and 
Blackberries  grow  frequently  up  and  down  the  Woods. 
Hemp  and  Flax  thrives  exceeding  well :  there  grows  a 
sort  of  wild  Silk  Pods,  call'd  Silk-Grass,  of  which  they 
may  make  fine  and  durable  Linnen.  What  Wheat  they 
have  planted  has  been  rather  for  Experiment  and  Obser- 
vation, whether  it  would  be  agreeable  to  the  Soil  and  Cli- 
mate, than  for  any  Substance  for  themselves,  or  for 
Transportation  abroad ;  what  they  have  sown,  the  Plant- 
ers assured  us  grew  exceeding  well;  as  also  Barly,  Mr. 
Linch  an  ingenious  Planter,  having  whilst  we  were  there 
very  good  growing  in  his  Plantation,  of  which  he  intend- 
ed to  make  Malt  for  brewing  of  English  Beer  and  Ale, 
havino"  all  Utensils  and  Conveniences  for  it.  Tobacco 
grows  very  well ;  and  they  have  of  an  excellent  sort, 
mistaken  by  some  of  our  English  Smoakers  for  Spanish 
Tobacco,  and  valued  from  5  to  8s.  the  Pound;  but  find- 
ing a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  the  Planting  and  Cure  of 
it,  and  the  great  Quantities  which  Virginia,  and  other  of 
His  Majesties  Plantations  make,  rendering  it  a  Drug  over 
all  Europe ;  they  do  not  much  regard  or  encourage  its 
Planting,  having  already  before  them  better  and  more 
profitable  Designs  in  Action.  Tarr  made  of  the  resinous 
Juice  of  the  Pine  (which  boyl'd  to  a  thicker  Consistence 
is  Pitch)  they  make  great  quantities  yearly,  transporting 
several  Tuns  to  Barbadoes,  Jamaica,  and  the  Caribbe 
Islands. 

Indigo  they  have  made,  and  that  good:  The  reason 
why  they  have  desisted  I  cannot  learn.  To  conclude, 
there  grows  in  Carolina  the  famous  Cassiny,  whose  ad- 
mirable and  incomparable  Vertues  are  highly  applauded 
and  extolled  by  French  and  Spanish  writers:    It  is  the 


70  A  COMPLETE  DISCOVEEY  OF  THE 

Leaves  of  a  certain  Tree,  which  boyl'd  in  Water  (as  we 
do  Thea)  wonderfully  enliven  and  envigorate  the  Heart, 
with  gennine  easie  Sweats  and  Transpirations,  preserv- 
ing the  Mind  free  and  serene,  keeping  the  Body  brisk, 
active,  and  lively,  not  for  an  hour,  or  two  but  for  as  many 
days,  as  those  Author's  report,  without  any  other  Nourish- 
ment or  Subsistance,  which,  if  true,  is  really  admirable  ; 
they  also  add,  that  none  amongst  the  Indians,  but  their 
great  Men  and  Captains,  who  have  been  famous  for  their 
great  Exploits  of  War  and  Noble  Actions,  are  admitted 
to  the  use  of  this  noble  Bevaridge.  At  my  being  there 
I  made  Enquiry  after  it ;  but  the  Ignorance  of  the  Plant- 
er did  not  inform  me.  Sponges  growing  on  the  Sandy 
Shears,  I  have  gathered  good  and  large ;  for  which 
Samos  in  times  past  was  famous,  supposed  by  the  An- 
cients to  be  the  only  place  in  the  World  where  they 
grew :  a  courser  sort  I  have  seen  pull'd  up  by  Fishers^ 
fishing  among  the  Rocks  of  the  Island  of  Berbadoes. 
Ambergrise  is  often  thrown  on  their  Shears ;  a  pretious 
Connnodity  to  him  who  finds  it,  if  Native  and  pure  in 
Worth  and  Value  It  surpasses  Gold ;  being  estimated  at 
5  and  6  Pound  the  Ounce,  if  not  adulterated.  What  it 
is  I  shall  not  decide,  leaving  it  to  the  Judgement  of  the 
more  Learned,  whether  it  be  the  Excrement  of  the 
Whale,  because  sometimes  in  dissecting  and  opening 
their  Bodies  it 's  there  discovered.  I  think  as  well  it  may 
be  argued  the  Excrements  of  other  Creatures,  Birds  and 
some  Beasts  greedily  desireing  and  affecting  it,  especi- 
ally the  Fox,  who  eating  it,  by  Digestion  it  passes 
through  his  Body;  after  some  Alteration  it's  again  re- 
cover'd,  and  is  that  which  we  call  Fox  Ambergrise. 
Others,  that  it  is  a  bituminous  Substance,  ebullating  or 
boihng  up  from  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea,  and  floating  on 
the  Surface  of  the  Waters,  is  condensed  by  the  circum- 


STATE  OF  CAROLINA.  71 

ambient  Air:  of  which  Opinion  is  the  Learned  Senner- 
tus.  Some  that  it  is  a  Plant  of  a  viseous  oleaginous 
Body,  really  growing  at  the  bottom  of  the  Sea,  the  swift 
and  violent  Motion  of  the  Waters  in  Storms  causing  an 
Eradication  or  Evnlsion  of  the  Plant,  forcing  it  to  the 
adjacent  Shears ;  that  it's  most  plentifully  found  after 
Storms  is  certain :  if  true,  as  an  intelligent  man  inform- 
ed me,  who  lived  many  years  at  the  Bermudaz,  and 
among  the  Behama  Islands,  who  saw  at  the  Behama  a 
piece  of  Ambergrise  weighing  thirty  pound  (for  its  big- 
ness famous  in  those  Parts)  having  perfect  and  apparent 
Roots,  equal  to  the  Body  in  worth  and  goodness.  Others 
that  it 's  the  liquid  resinous  Tears  of  some  odoriferous 
Tree,  hanging  over  Seas  or  Rivers,  coagulated  in  that 
Form  which  we  find  it.  Dr.  Trapham,  an  ingenious 
Physician  in  Jamaica,  differs  little  from  this  last  opinion, 
thinking  it  the  Gummous  Juice  of  some  Fragrant  Plant 
which  grows  on  Rocks  near  the  Sea,  whose  Trunks 
broken  by  the  rude  and  boysterous  Waves,  emit  that 
precious  Liquor.  In  Medicinal  and  Physical  uses  it  has 
a  high  esteem,  being  prescribed  in  the  richest  Cordials, 
admirable  in  the  languishes  of  the  Spirit  Paintings,  and 
Deliquium  of  the  Heart ;  given  as  the  last  remedy  to 
agonizing  Persons.  In  Perfumes  of  Linnen,  Woollen, 
Gloves,  &c.  there  is  none  esteemed  more  costly  or  pre- 
cious. It's  of  different  Colors,  Black,  Red,  the  Nutmeg, 
and  Gray  Color  are  held  the  best. 

The  great  encrease  of  their  Cattel  is  rather  to  be  ad- 
mired than  believed;  not  more  than  six  or  seven  years 
past  the  Country  was  almost  destitute  of  Cows,  Hogs 
and  Sheep,  now  they  have  many  thousand  Head.  The 
Planter  in  Winter  takes  no  care  for  their  Provision, 
which  is  a  great  Advantage ;  the  Northern  Plantations 
obliging  the  Planters  to  spend  great  part  of  their  Summer 


72  A  COMPLETE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE 

to  provide  Fodder  and  Provision  for  their  Cattle,  to  pre- 
serve them  from  starving  in  the  Winter.  The  Cows  the 
Year  round  bronzing  on  the  sv^eet  Leaves  growing  on 
the  Trees  and  Bushes,  or  on  the  wholesome  Herbage 
growing  underneath :  They  usually  call  them  home  in 
the  Evening  for  their  Milk,  and  to  keep  them  from  run- 
ning wild.  Hogs  find  more  than  enough  of  Fruit  in  the 
Summer,  and  Roots  and  Nuts  in  the  Winter ;  from  the 
abundance  of  their  Feeding,  great  numbers  forsake  their 
own  Plantations,  mnning  wild  in  the  Woods,  the  Tyger, 
Wolf,  and  Wild  Cat,  by  devouring  them,  oftentimes  goes 
share  with  the  Planter;  but  when  the  Stock  encreases 
and  grows  strong,  the  older  surround  the  younger,  and 
boldly  oppose,  and  oftentimes  attack  their  Invaders. 
Their  Sheep  bears  good  Wool ;  the  Ewes  at  a  time  of- 
ten have  9  or  3  Lambs;  they  thrive  very  v/ell,  the 
Country  being  so  friendly  to  their  Natures,  that  it 's  ob- 
served, they  are  neither  hable  nor  incident  to  any  known 
Disease  or  Distemper. 

Of  Beasts  bearing  Furrs,  they  have  great  store  of  va- 
riety, whose  Skins  serve  the  Indians  for  Cloathing  and 
Bedding,  and  the  English  for  many  uses,  besides  the 
great  Advantage  made  of  them,  by  their  being  sent  for 
England. 

Deer,  of  which  there  is  such  infinite  Herds,  that  the 
whole  Country  seems  but  one  continued  Park,  insomuch 
that  I  have  often  heard  Captain  Matthews,  an  ingenious 
Gentleman,  and  Agent  to  Sir  Peter  Colleton  for  his  aflfahs 
in  Carolina,  that  one  hunting  Indian  has  yearly  kill'd  and 
brought  to  his  Plantation  more  than  100,  sometimes  200 
head  of  Deer.  Bears  there  are  in  great  numbers,  of  whose 
Fat  they  make  an  Oyl  which  is  of  great  Vertue  and 
Efficacy  in  causing  the  Hair  to  grow,  which  I  observed 
the  Indians  daily  used,  by  which  means  they  not  only 


STATE    OF    CAROLINA.  73 

keep  their  Hair  clear  and  preserved  from  Vermine,  but 
by  the  nourishing-  faculty  of  the  Oyl,  it  usually  ex- 
tended in  length  to  their  middles.  There  are  Bevors, 
Otters,  Foxes,  Racoons,  Possums,  Musquasses,"^  Hares 
and  Coneys,  Squirrels  of  five  kinds,  the  flying  Squirrel, 
whose  delicate  Skin  is  commended  for  comforting,  if 
apphed  to  a  cold  Stomack,  the  Red,  the  Grey,  the  Fox 
and  Black  Squirrels.  Leather  for  Shoes  they  have  good 
and  well  tann'd :  The  Indians  have  also  a  way  of  dress- 
ing- their  Skins  rather  softer,  thous^h  not  so  durable  as 
ours  in  England. 

Birds  the  Country  yields  of  differing  kinds  and  Col- 
ours :  For  Prey,  the  Pelican,Hawk  and  Eagle,  &c. — For 
Pleasure,  the  red,  copped  and  blew  bird,  which  wantonly 
imitates  the  various  Notes  and  sounds  of  such  Birds  and 
Beasts  which  it  hears,  wherefore, by  way  of  Allusion,  it's 
call'd  the  Mocking  Bird ;  for  which  pleasing  Property 
it 's  there  esteem'd  a  Rarity.  Birds  for  Food,  and  plea- 
sure of  Game,  are  the  Swan,  Goose,  Duck,  Mallard, 
Wigeon,  Teal,  Curlew,  Plover,  Partridge,  the  Flesh  of 
which  is  equally  as  good,  though  smaller  than  ours  in 
England.  Pigeons  and  Parakeittoes :  In  Winter  huge 
Flights  of  wild  Turkies,  oftentimes  weighing  from  twen- 
ty, thiry  to  forty  pound.  There  are  also  great  Stocks  of 
tame  Fowl,  viz.  Geese,  Ducks,  Cocks,  Hens,  Pigeons  and 
Turkies.  They  have  a  Bird  I  believe  the  least  in 
the  whole  Creation,  named  the  Humming  Bird;  m big- 
ness the  Wren  being  much  superiour,  in  magnitude  not 
exceeding  the  Humble  Bee,  whose  Body  in  flying  much 
resembles  it,  did  not  their  long  Bills,  between  two  and 
three  Inches,  and  no  bigger  than  Needles,  make  the  difler- 

*  It 's  a  little  ci-'6ature  feeding  on  sweet  herbs,  whose  cods  scent  as 
sweet  and  strong  as  Musk,  lasting  a  long  time,  if  handsomely  inclosed 
in  Cotton  WooL 

10 


74  A  COMPLETE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE 

ence.  They  are  a  deep  Green,  shadow'd  with  a  Murry, 
not  much  luilike  the  color  of  some  Doves  Necks,  they 
take  their  Food  humming  or  flying,  feeding  on  the  exu- 
berant Moistures  of  sweet  odoriferous  Leaves  and  Flovv- 
ers.  I  have  frequently  seen  them  in  many  parts  of  the 
West  Indies,  but  never  observed  them  to  have  any  Musi- 
cal Air,  but  a  loud  Note  to  Admiration,  crying  Chur, 
Chur,  Chur,  &c.  which  at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  is 
plainly  heard;  their  Eggs,  of  which  they  produce  three 
or  four  young,  at  a  time,  not  unlike  small  white  Pease : 
they  continue  between  the  Tropiques  the  whole  year 
round,  as  I  have  observed  at  Berbadoes  and  Jamaica,  but 
I  am  informed,  that  in  the  more  Northern  parts  of  Amer- 
ica they  sleep  the  whole  Winter;  at  Berbadoes  the  Jews 
curiously  skin  these  little  Birds,  filling  them  with  fine 
Sand,  and  perfuming  their  Feathers,  they  are  sent  into 
Europe  as  pretty  Delicacies  for  Ladies,  who  hang  them 
at  thek  Breasts  and  Girdles. 

There  are  in  Carolina  great  numbers  of  Fire  Flies, 
who  carry  their  Lanthorns  in  their  Tails  in  dark  Nights, 
flying  through  the  Air,  shining  like  Sparks  of  Fire,  en- 
lightning  it  with  their  Golden  Spangles.  I  have  seen  a 
larger  sort  at  Jamaica,  which  Dr.  Heylin  in  his  Cosmo- 
graphy, enumerates  amongst  the  Rarities  and  Wonders  of 
Hispaniola,  an  Island  under  the  King  of  Spain,  distant 
between  20  and  30  Leagues  from  Jamaica:  These  have 
two  Lights  above  their  Eyes,  and  a  third  in  their  Tails : 
in  dark  nights  they  shine  like  Candles ;  for  which  I  have 
often  at  a  distance  mistaken  them,  supposeing  them  to 
have  been  the  Lights  of  some  adjacent  Plantation ;  and 
in  this  I  have  not  been  the  first  that  has  been  so  deceiv- 
ed. Amongst  large  Orange  Trees  in  the  Night,  I  have 
seen  many  of  those  Flies,  whose  Lights  have  appeared 
like  hanging  Candles,    or  pendant  Flambeaus,  which 


STATE  OF  CAROLINA.  7^ 

amidst  the  Leaves  and  ripe  Fruit  yielded  a  Light  truly 
glorious  to  behold ;  with  3  of  these  included  in  a  Glass 
Bottle,  in  a  very  dark  night  I  have  read  very  small  Cha- 
racters :  When  they  are  kill'd,  their  Igneous  or  Lumin- 
ous Matter  does  not  immediately,  (till  half  an  hour,  or  an 
hom'  after  their  Deaths)  extinguish. 

As  the  Earth,  the  Air  &c.  are  enrich'd  and  replenished 
with  the  Blessmgs  of  the  Most  High,  the  Seas  and  Rivers 
of  the  same  bounty  equally  participate  in  the  Variety  of 
excellent  and  wholsom   Fish  which  it  produces,  viz. 
Sturgeon,  of  whose  Sounds  Iceing  glass,  of  whose  Roes 
Caviare  are  made :     Mullet,  a  delicious  sweet  Fish,  of 
whose  Roes  or  Spawn  Botargo  is  made  :     Whale,  Sal- 
mon, Trouts,  Bass,  Drum,  Cat-fish,  whose  Head  and 
glaring  Eyes  resemble  a  Cat ;  it 's  esteem'd  a  very  good 
Fish ;    it  hath  a  sharp  thorny  Bone  on  its  Back,  which 
striltes  at  such  as  endeavour  to  take  it :  which  by  Sea- 
men is  held  venemous  :  yet  I  saw  one  of  our  Seamen, 
the  back  of  whose  Hand  was  pierced  with  it,  yet  no 
poysonous  Symptoms  of  Inflammation  or  Rancor  appear'd 
on  the  Wound,  which  quickly  heal'd,  that  I  concluded 
it  was  either  false,  or  that  of  this  Fish  there  were  more 
kmds  than  one  :     Plaice,  Eels,  Crabs,  Pra^vns  twice  as 
large  as  ours  in  England :     Oysters  of  an  Oblong  or 
Oval  Form ;    their  number  inexhaustible ;  a  man  may 
easily  gather  more  a  day  than  he  can  well  eat  in  a  year ; 
some  of  which  are  margitiferous,  yielding  bright  round 
Oriental  Pearl.     The  Tortois,  more  commonly  call'd  by 
our  West  Indians  the  Turtle,  are  of  three  sorts,   the 
Hawks-Bill,  whose  Shell  is  that  which  we  call  the  Turtle 
or  Tortois  Shell ;  the  Green  Turtle,  whose  shell  being 
thin  is  little  reorarded :  but  its  Flesh  is  more  esteemed 
than  the  Hawks-bill  Tortois  :     The  Loggerhead  Turtle, 
or  Tortois  has  neither  good  Shell  or  Flesh,  so  is  httle 


% 


76  A  COMPLETE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE 

minded  or  regarded.  They  are  a  sort  of  creatures  wMcli 
live  both  on  Land  and  Water.  In  the  day  usually  keep- 
ing the  Sea,  swimming  on  the  surface  of  the  Water,  in 
fair  Weather  dehghting  to  expose  themselves  to  the  Sun, 
oftentimes  falling  asleep,  lying,  as  I  have  seen  several 
times,  without  any  Motion  on  the  Waters,  till  disturbed 
by  the  approach  of  some  Ship  or  Boat,  being  quick  of 
hearing,  they  dive  away.  In  the  night  they  often  come 
ashore  to  feed  and  lay  their  Eggs  in  the  sand,  which 
once  covered,  they  leave  to  the  Influence  of  the  Sun, 
which  in  due  time  produces  her  young  ones,  which  dig 
their  Passage  out  of  the  sand  immediately  making 
their  way  towards  the  Water.  At  this  season,  when 
they  most  usually  come  ashore,  which  is  in  April,  May 
and  June,  the  Seamen  or  Turtlers,  at  some  convenient 
distance  watch  their  opportunity,  getting  between  them 
and  the  Sea,  turn  them  on  their  Backs,  from  whence 
they  are  unable  ever  to  rise,  by  which  means  the  Sea- 
men or  Turtlers  sometimes  turn  40  or  50  in  a  night, 
some  of  2,  3,  400  weight :  If  they  are  far  distant  from 
the  Harbor  or  Market  to  which  they  design  to  bring 
them,  they  kill,  cutting  them  to  pieces,  which  Salted  they 
Barrel :  This  is  the  way  of  killing  at  the  Caymana's, 
an  Island  lying  to  the  Leeward  of  Jamaica. 

Turtle,  Barrel'd  and  Salted,  if  well  conditioned,  is 
worth  from  18  to  25  shillings  the  Barrel.  If  near  their 
Market  or  Harbor  they  bring  them  in  Sloops  alive,  and 
afterwards  keep  them  in  Crauls,  which  is  a  particular 
place  of  Salt  Water  of  Depth  and  Room  for  them  to 
swim  in,  pallisado'd  or  staked,  in  round  above  the 
Waters  surface,  where,  upon  occasion  they  take  them 
out,  and  kill  them,  and  cutthig  them  to  pieces,  sell  their 
Flesh  for  two  pence  or  three  pence  the  pound :  the  Belly, 
which  they  call  the  Callope  of  the  Turtle,  pepper'd  and 


STATE    OF   CAROLINA.  77 

salted,  or  roasted  and  baked,  is  an  excellent  Dish,  much 
esteemed  by  our  Nation  in  the  West  Indies  :  the  rest  of 
the  Flesh  boil'd,  makes  as  good  and  nourishing  Broath, 
as  the  best  Capon  in  England,  especially  if  some  of  the 
Eggs  are  mixt  with  it ;  they  are  some  white,  and  others 
of   a  yellow  or  golden  Colour,  in  largeness  not  exceed- 
ing a  Walnut,  wrapt  in  a  thin  Skin  or  Membrane,  sweet 
in  Taste,  nomishing  and  wholesome  :    and  of  this  pro- 
perty, that  they  never  grow  hard  by  boiling  :  the  Liver 
is  black,  it  freely  opens  and  purges  the  Body :  if  little 
of  it  be  eaten,  it  dies  the  Excrement  of  a  deep  black 
Colour :     The  Fat  in  Color  inclines  to  a  Sea  Green ; 
in  Taste  it 's  sweet  and  luscious,  equalling,  if  not  surpass- 
ing the  best  Marrow,  if  freely  eaten  it  deeply  stains  the 
Urine  of  its  Color :     It 's  of  a  very  penetrating  piercing 
quality,  highly  comended  in  strains  and  aches  :     Of  it 
the  Turtlers  oftentimes  make  an  Oyl,  which  in  Lamps 
burns  much  brighter  and  sweeter  than  common  Lamp  or 
Train  Oyl.     In  general,  the  Flesh  is  commended  for  a 
good  Antiscorbutique  and  an  Antivenerial  Diet ;  many 
in  the  former,  and  some  that  have  been  far  gone  in  Con- 
sumptions, with  the   constant  use  alone  of  this  Diet, 
have  been  thoroughly  recovered  and  cured  in  3  or  4 
months.     It  hath  3  Hearts,  by  thin  Pellicules  only  sepa- 
rated, which  has  caused  some  to  Philosophize  on  its 
Amphibious  Nature,  alluding  to  those  participating  and 
assimulating  Qualities  which  it  has  to  the  rest  of  the 
Universe,  it  swimming  like  a  Fish,  laying  Eggs  like  a 
Fowl,  and  feeding  on  Grass  like  an  Ox.      This  I  am 
assured  of,  that  after  it 's  cut  to  pieces,  it  retains  a  sensa- 
tion of  Life  three  times  longer  than  any  known  Creature 
in  the  Creation :     Before  they  kill  them  they  are  laid  on 
their  Backs,  where  hopeless  of  Relief  as  if  sensible  of 


78  A   COMPLETE    DISCOVERY   OF   THE 

their  future  Condition,  for  some  hours  thej  mourn  out 
their  Funerals,  the  Tears  plentifully  flowing  from  their 
Eyes,  accompanied  with  passionate  sobs  and  sighs,  in 
my  Judgement  nothing  more  like  than  such  who  are 
surrounded  and  overwhelmed  with   Troubles.      Cares 
and  Griefs,  which  raises   in  strangers   both  Pity  and 
Compassion.     Compleatly  six  hours  after  the  Butcher 
has  cut  them  up  and  into  pieces,  mangled  their  Bodies,  I 
have  seen  the  Callope  when  going  to  be  seasoned,  with 
pieces  of  their  Flesh  ready  to  cut  into  Steakes,  vehe- 
mently contract  with  great  Reluctancy  rise  against  the 
Knife,  and  sometimes  the  whole  Mass  of  Flesh  in  a 
visible  Tremulation.  and  Concussion,  to  him  who  first 
sees  it  seems  strange  and  admirable.     There  is  farther 
to  the   Southward  of   Carohna,   especially  about   the 
Shears  and  Rivers  of  Hispaniola  and  Cuba  a  Fish  in 
Nature  something  like  the  former,  call'd  the  Manacy  or 
Sea-Cow,  of  an  extraordinary  Bigness,  sometimes  of 
1000  pound  weight :     It  feeds  on  the  Banks  and  Shear 
sides  on  the  grassy  Herbage,  like  a  Tortoise ;  but  that 
which  is  more  wonderful  of  this  Creature  is,  that  she 
gives  her  Young  Ones  suck  from  her  Duggs ;  she  is 
headed   like  a  Cow,    of  a   green  Colour,    her   Flesh 
esteemed  by   some  the  most   delicate   in  the  World, 
sweeter  than  the  tenderest  Veal,  sold  at  Jamaica,  where 
it 's  sometimes  bought  for  6d.  the  pound :     It  hath  a  stone 
in  the  Head  wliich  is  a  gallant  Remedy  against  the 
Pains  and  Dolors  of  the  Stone ;  so  are  the  Bones  of  its 
Body  to  provoke  Urine,  when  pulveriz'd  and  exhibited  in 
convenient  Liquors.     Its  Skin  makes  excellent  Whips 
for  Horses,if  prudently  us'd,  which  are  very  serviceable 
and  lasting ;  with  one  of  these  Manaty  strapps  I  have 
seen  a  Bar  of  Iron  cut  and  dented :     It  cuts  so  severe 


STATE    OF    CAROLINA.  79 

and  deep,  that  by  the  Pubhc  Authority  at  Jamaica,  Mas- 
ters are  forbidden  and  prohibited  with  it  to  strike  their 
White  Servants. 

There  is  in  the  mouth  of   their  Rivers,  or   in  the 
Lakes  near  the   Sea,  a  Creature  well  known   in  the 
West  Indies,  call'd  the  Alligator  or  Crocodile,  whose 
Scaly  Back  is  impenetrible,  refusing  a  Musquet  Bullet, 
to  pierce  it,  but  under  the  Belly,  that  or  an  Arrow  finds 
an  easie   Passage,  to  destroy  it ;  it  lives  both  on  Land 
and  Water,  being  a  voracious  greedy  Creature,  devour- 
ing whatever  it  seizes  on,  Man  only  excepted,  which 
on  the  Land  it  has  not  the  courage  to  attacque,  except 
when  asleep  or  by  sjirprize :     In  the  Water  it  's  more 
dangerous  ;  it  sometimes  grows  to  a  great  length,  from 
16  to  20  foot,  having  a  long  mouth,  beset  with  sharp 
keen  Teeth ;  the  Body  when  full  grown  as  large  as  a 
Horse,  declining  towards  the  Tail ;  it 's  slow  in  motion, 
and  having  no  Joynt  in  the  Vertebraes  or  Back  Bone, 
but  with  its  whole  length  is  unable  to  turn,  which  ren- 
ders it  the  less  mischievous;  yet  Nature  by  Instinct 
has  given  most  Creatures  timely  caution  to  avoid  them 
by  their  strong  Musky  Smell,  which  at  a  considerable 
distance  is  perceiveable,  which  the  poor  Cattle,  for  their 
own  Preservation  make  good  use  of :  their  Flesh  cuts 
very  white ;  the  young  ones  are  eatable  ;  the  Flesh  of 
the  older  smells   so  strong  of  Musk  that  it  nauseates : 
their  Stones   at  least  so  called,  are  commended  for  a 
rich,  lasting  perfume. 

Mettals  or  Minerals  I  know  not  of  any,  yet  it 's  sup- 
posed and  generally  believed,  that  the  Apalatean 
Mountains  which  lie  far  up  within  the  Land,  yields  Ore 
both  of  Gold  and  Silver,  that  the  Spaniards  in  their 
running  searches  of  this  Country  saw  it,  but  had  not 
time  to  open  them,  or  at  least,  for  the  present  were 


80  A    COMPLETE    DISCOVERY    OP    THE 

unwilling  to  make  any  farther  Discovery  till  their  Mines 
of  Peru  and  Mexico  were  exhausted,  or  as  others,  that 
they  were  politically  fearful  that  if  the  Riches  of  the 
Country  should  be  exposed,  it  would  be  an  allure  to 
encourage  a  Foreign  Invader.  Poverty  preserving, 
Riches  oftentimes  the  cause  that  Property  is  lost, 
usurped  and  invaded ;  but  whether  it  be  this  or  that 
reason  time  will  dis-cover. 

The  Natives  of  the  Country  are  from  time  unmemo- 
rial,  ab  Origine  Indians,  of  a  deep  Chesnut  Colour, 
their  Hair  black  and  straight,  tied  various  ways,  some- 
times oyl'd  and  painted,  stuck  through  with  Feathers 
for  Ornament  or  Gallantry ;  their  Eyes  black  and  spark- 
lino-,  little  or  no  Hair  on  their  Chins,  well  limb'd  and 
featured,  painting  their  Faces  with  different  Figures  of 
a  red  or  Sanguine  Colour,  whether  for  Beauty  or  to 
render  themselves  formidable  to  their  Enemies  I  could 
not  learn.  They  are  excellent  Hunters ;  their  Wea- 
pons the  Bow  and  Arrow,  made  of  a  Read,  pointed 
with  sharp  stones,  or  Fish  Bones ;  their  Cloathing 
Skins  of  the  Bear  or  Deer,  the  Skin  drest  after  their 
Country  Fashion. 

Manufactures,  or  Arts  amongst  them  I  have  heard  of 
none,  only  little  Baskets,  made  of  painted  Reeds  and 
Leather  drest  sometimes  with  black  and  red  Chequers 
coloured.  In  Medicine,  or  the  Nature  of  Simples,  some 
have  an  exquisite  knowledge ;  and  in  the  cure  of 
Scorbutick,  Venereal,  and  Malignant  Distempers  are 
admirable :  In  all  External  Diseases  they  suck  the 
part  affected  with  many  Incantations,  Philtres  and 
Charms :  In  Amorous  Intrigues  they  are  excellent 
either  to  procure  Love  or  Hatred :  They  are  not  very 
forward  in  Discovery  of  their  secrets,  which  by  long 
Experience  are  religiously  transmitted  and  conveyed  in 


STATE  OF  CAROLINA.  81 

a  continued  Line  from  one  Generation  to  another,  for 
which  those  skill'd  in  this  Faculty  are  held  in  great 
Veneration  and  Esteem.  Their  Religion  chiefly  con- 
sists in  the  Adoration  of  the  Sun  and  Moon :  At  the 
Appearance  of  the  New  Moon  I  have  observed  them 
with  open  extended  Arms  then  folded,  with  inclined 
Bodies,  to  make  their  Adorations  with  much  Ardency 
and  Passion :  They  are  divided  into  many  Divisions  or 
Nations,  Govern'd  by  Reguli,  or  Petty  Princes,  which 
our  English  call  Cacicoes :  Their  Diet  is  of  Fish, 
Flesh,  and  Fowl,  with  Indian  Maiz  or  Corn ;  their 
Drink  Water,  yet  Lovers  of  the  Spirits  of  Wine  and 
Sugar.  They  have  hitherto  lived  in  good  Correspon- 
dence and  Amity  with  the  English,  who  by  their  just 
and  equitable  Carriage  have  extreamly  winn'd  and 
obliged  them ;  Justice  being  exactly  and  impartially 
administred,  prevents  Jealousies,  and  Maintains  between 
them  a  good  Understanding,  that  the  Neighbouring 
Indians  are  very  kind,  and  serviceable,  doing  our  Nation 
such  Civilities  and  good  Turns  as  lie  in  their  Power. 

This  Country  was  first  discover'd  by  Sir  Sebastian 
Cabott,  by  the  order,  and  at  the  expence  of  King 
Henry  VII.,  from  which  Discovery  our  successive 
Princes  have  held  their  Claim  in  pursuance  to  which  in 
the  seventeenth  Year  of  His  Majesties  Reign  it  was 
granted  unto  his  Grace  George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  un- 
to the  Right  Honourable  Edward  Earl  of  Clarendon, 
William  Earl  of  Craven,  John  Lord  Berkley,  Anthony 
Lord  Ashley  now  Earl  of  Shafts-bury,  to  the  Honoura- 
ble Sir  George  Carterett,  and  Sir  John  Colleton,  Knights 
and  Baronetts,  to  Sir  William  Berkeley  Knight,  with  a 
full  and  plenipotentiary  Power  to  Colonize,  Enact 
Laws,  Execute  Justice,  &c.  The  Regalia's  of  Premier 
Soverignty  only  reserved.     The  Principal  place  where 

11 


82  A    COMPLETE    DISCOVERY    OF    THE 

the  English  are  now  settled  lies  scituated  on  a  point 
of  Land  about  two  Leagues  from  the  Sea,  between 
Ashly  and  Cooper  Rivers,  so  named  in  Honour  to  the 
Right  Honourable  the  Earl  of  Shafts-bury,  a  great  Pa- 
tron to  the  Affairs  of  Carolina.  The  place  called  Charles 
Town,  by  an  express  Order  from  the-  Lord  Proprietors 
in  the  Year  One  thousand  Six  hundred  and  eighty, 
their  Ordnance  and  Ammunition  being  removed  thither 
from  Old  Charles  Town,  which  lay  about  a  League 
higher  from  Ashly  River,  both  for  its  strength  and 
Commerce.  It's  very  commodiously  scituated  from 
many  other  Navigable  Rivers  that  lie  near  it  on  which 
the  Planters  are  seated ;  by  the  Advantage  of  Creeks, 
which  have  a  Communication  from  one  great  River  to 
another ;  at  the  Tide  or  Ebb  the  Planters  may  bring 
their  Commodities  to  the  Town  as  to  the  Common  Mar- 
ket and  Magazine  both  for  Trade  and  Shipping. 

The  Town  is  regularly  laid  out  into  large  and  capa- 
cious streets,  which  to  Buildings  is  a  great  Ornament 
and  Beauty.  In  it  they  have  reserved  convenient  places 
for  Building  of  a  Church,  Town  House  and  other  Pub- 
lick  Structures,  an  Artillery  Ground  for  the  Exercise  of 
their  Militia,  and  Wharfs  for  the  Convenience  of  their 
Trade  and  Shipping.  At  our  being  there  was  judged  in 
the  Country  a  1000  or  1200  Souls  ;  but  the  great  Num- 
bers of  Families  from  England,  Ireland,  Berbadoes, 
Jamaica,  and  the  Caribees,  which  daily  Transport  them- 
selves thither,  have  more  than  doubled  that  Number. 
The  Commodities  of  the  Country  as  yet  proper  for 
England,  are  Furrs  and  Cedar:  For  Berbadoes,  Ja- 
maica and  the  Caribee  Islands,  Provisions,  Pitch,  Tarr 
and  Clapboard,  for  which  they  have  in  exchange 
Sugar,  Rumm,  Melasses  and  Ginger,  &c.    such  things 


STATE    OF    CAROLINA.  83 

■which  are  proper  and  requisite  for  the  Planter  to  be 
stored  with  before  he  leaves  England  for  his  better 
Settlement  there  at  his  Arrival,  chiefly  Servants  :  All 
kind  of  Iron  Work  for  the  clearing  of  Land,  pruning  of 
Vines,  for  the  Kitchen  and  for  Building,  Commodities 
proper  for  the  Merchant  to  Transport  thither  for  his 
Advantage.  Cloathing  of  all  kinds,  both  Linnen  and 
Woollen,  Hats,  Stockins,  Shoes ;  all  kind  of  Am- 
munition, Guns,  Fowling-pieces,  Powder,  Match, 
Bullet,  Nails,  Locks  and  Knives ;  all  Haberdashers 
Ware :  Cordage  and  Sails  for  Shipping,  Spirits  and 
Spices,  viz.  Cloves,  Nutmegs  and  Cinnamon.  Fi- 
nally, to  encourage  People  to  Transport  themselves 
thither,  the  Lord  Proprietors  give  unto  all  Masters  and 
Mistresses  of  Families  to  their  Children,  Men-servants 
and  Maid-servants  if  above  Sixteen  Years  of  age, 
fifty  to  all  such  under  forty  Acres  of  Land  to  be  held 
for  ever,  annually  paying  a  Peny  an  Acre  to  the 
Lord  Proprietors  to  commence  in  2  Years  after  it 's 
survey 'd. 

Sir,  Thus  in  an  Abstract  I  have  given  you  the 
Draught  of  this  excellent  Country,  beginning  with 
its  Name,  Scituation,  &c.  and  when  first  settled, 
regularly  proceeding  to  the  Nature  of  the  Soil,  Qua- 
lity of  the  Air,  the  Diseases  and  Longevity  of  its 
Inhabitants,  the  Rarity  of  its  produce  in  Trees, 
Fruits,  Roots  and  Herbs,  Beasts,  Fish,  Fowl  and  In- 
sects ;  the  Nature  and  Disposition  of  the  Indians, 
the  Progress  the  English  have  made  since  their  first 
Settlement,  what  Commodities  they  abound  with,  in 
what  defective,  in  all  which  from  the  Truth  I  have 
never   swerved  nor   varied:      Indeed   in   some  other 


84  A    COMPLETE    DISCOVERY,    ETC. 

things  I  might  have  farther  enlarged  and  expatiated, 
which  I  shall  refer  to  a  Personal  Discourse,  when  I 
have  the  Honour  to  wait  upon  you  again  ;  in  the  mean 
time  I  am 

Your  humble  Servant, 

T.  A. 


FINIS. 


A  NEW 

DESCRIPTION 


OF    THAT 


FERTILE    AND    PLEASANT 

WITH  A  BRIEF  ACCOUNT 

OF  ITS 

DISCOVERY  AND  SETTLING, 

AND 

THE    GOVERNMENT 

THEREOF  TO  THIS  TIME. 

With  several  Remarkable   Passsages  of  Divine  Providence 
during  my  tiTne. 


By  JOHN   ARCHDALE: 

Late  Governor  of  the  same. 


LONDON— Printed  in  1707. 


TO  THE  COURTEOUS  READER. 


I  FIND  myself  under  an  Obligation  to  Apologize  for  some  part  of  the  ensuing 
Treatise  that  seems  to  Applaud  my  own  Actions  in  Carolina  ;  but  I  desire  you 
to  consider,  that  a  sort  of  Necessity  draws  from  me  this  Description  and  Account 
of  the  Government  of  Carolina :  And  I  can  assure  the  Reader  that  I  write  not 
to  Introduce  myself  again,  as  Governor  of  the  same ;  (yet  my  Opinion  and 
Judgment  is,  that  a  Moderate,  Discreet  Man  from  England,  which  now  yields 
many  a  one,  such  a  one  that  hath  not  been  concerned  in  their  Broils,  would  be 
their  most  suitable  Governor,  when  it  shall  seem  proper  to  remove  the  present 
one)  For  I  believe  no  Entreaties  could  move  me  to  it;  but  I  write  to  give  the 
Country  itself  its  true  and  due  Praise,  and  to  clear  myself  from  the  Malitious 
Aspersions  of  some  that  feared  my  antient  Treatment  of  the  People  would 
revive  their  Affections  to  me,  to  ruin  their  present  Designs ;  for  the  moderate 
Party  Politickly  spreading  a  Report,  as  they  thought  that  1  was  coming  over  to 
redress  the  Grievancies  of  the  Country;  they  thereupon  contrived  an  Act  to 
Fetter  my  Power,  by  putting  it  out  of  my  Power  for  two  Years  to  call  a  New 
Assembly ;  but  no  such  Act  being  approved  on  here,  their  Fetters  would  have 
proved  like  Sampson' s  Cords,  easily  broken  asunder ;  But  this  may  be  of  great 
Benefit  to  many  Readers,  in  Consideri-ng  the  mutability  of  humane  Affairs ; 
That  I,  that  had  so  large  Powers  from  the  Lord's  Proprietors,  which  I  entirely 
exercised  for  the  Peoples  Good  ;  should  as  an  ungrateful  requital  be  so  Crampt, 
by  their  Power,  as  not  to  be  capable  to  redress  their  Solid  Grievances;  For  I 
believe,  1  may  at  the  least  truly  declare,  that  not  one  Inhabitant  in  four,  would 
have  Signed  that  Excluding  Act,  which  had  the  Queen  declared  Null  and  Void 
would  have  speedily  ruined  that  Colony :  For  it  was  not  the  meer  Mob  that 
was  against  it,  like  that  generally  in  the  Scotland  Plantations,  but  the  most 
considerable  Persons  of  the  place  thai  removed  with  free  Estates  into  those 
Parts ;  so  I  shall  dismiss  my  Reader,  to  the  Consideration  of  what  I  have 
written,  with  this  further  remark  of  the  Learned  and  pious  Bishop  of  Salisbury, 
who  in  his  Travels  observed  that  the  most  Fertile  Soile  o^ Italy,  under  the 
Ecclesiastical  State  of  Rome,  was  by  ill  Government  so  Decay 'd;  that  the 
Orisons  Country  the  naturally  far  more  Barren,  yet  became  more  Fruitful 
and  Pleasant  than  the  other,  through  the  free  and  generous  Government 
Administered  in  that  State:  Who  in  his  Travels  was  no  Disgrace  to  the 
Protestant  Clergy  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  whose  Moderation  hath 
appeared  unto  all  Men.  That  the  Reader  may  see  the  Moderation  of  the 
Sober,  moderate  Church-men  and  Dissenters  in  a  free  Assembly,  I  think  good 
to  Conclude  with  the  Clause  of  a  Militia  Act,  which  runs  thus; 

And  whereas  there  be  several  Inhabitants  calVd  Quakers,  who  upon  a 
Conscientious  Principle  of  Religion,  cannot  bear  Arms,  and  because  in 
all  other  Civil  Matters  they  have  been  Persons  Obedient  to  Government, 
and  very  ready  to  disburse  their  Monies  in  other  necessary  and  public 
Duties.  Be  it  therefore  Enacted,  that  all  such  whom  the  present  Go- 
vernor John  Archdale  Esq.;  shall  judge  that  they  refuse  to  bear  Arms  on 
a  Conscientious  Principle  of  Religion  only  shaW  by  a  Certificate  from 
him  be  Excused, 


A 
DESCRIPTION 


OF 


CAROLINA 


Before  I  give  a  particular  Description  of  Carolina,  I 
think  good  to  make  some  general  Remarks  on  the  Di- 
vine Providence  of  the  Almighty  and  Omniscient  God, 
who  hath  so  stated  the  various  scenes  of  Nature,  as  to 
accomplish  his  Divine  Will  in  fulfilling  whatsoever 
stands  recorded  in  the  Holy  Scriptures :  Now  that 
scene  of  Divine  Providence  which  seems  to  be  appro- 
priated to  our  Times,  is  the  dawning  Day  for  the  Accom- 
plishment of  various  Promises,  not  only  that  Christ 
should  be  given  as  a  Light  to  enlighten  the  Gentiles,  and 
to  he  the  Glory  of  his  People  Israel,  which  Glory  is  not 
revealed,  as  hinted  at  be  Paul,  Rom.  10.  But  again, 
Psal.  2.  That  God  will  give  unto  Christ  the  Heathen 
for  his  Inheritance,  and  the  utmost  Parts  of  the  Earth  for 
his  Possession :  as  also,  Isa.  that  the  Earth  shall  be  filed 
with  the  Knorvledge  of  God,  as  the  Waters  covers  the 
Seas  ;  and  Da?i.  12.  that  many  should  run  too  and  fro, 
and  knowledge  should  be  increased  in  the  Earth ;  with 
many  more  Promises  of  the  like  Nature,  which  plainly 
intimates.  That  the  Mysteries  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
are  to  be  unsealed  in  the  last  Days  :  To  the  which  that 


88  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA. 

Excellent  Poet  Davies  intimates  in  Queen  Elizaheth!s 
Days,  in  these  Words, 

O  thou  bright  Morning  Star,  thou  rising  Sun, 
Who  in  these  latter  Days  hast  brought  lo  light, 

Those  Mysteries  that  since  the  World  begun, 
Lay  hid  in  Dai'kness  and  eternal  Night. 

And  because  in  all  the  Grand  scenes  of  Divine  Provi- 
vidence,  some  preparative  Stroakes  are  generally  made 
as  Preludiums  to  what  is  quickly  to  ensue,  the  Art  of 
Printing,  to  beget  Knowledge,  hath  been  reserved  for 
this  last  Age,  as  also  the  Compass  to  convey  Know- 
ledge, as  aforesaid;  and  the  Discovery  of  Gunpowder 
hath  been  another  Medium  to  subdue  Millions  of  Peo- 
ple that  lay  under  a  Barbarous  and  Brutish  State  :  As 
for  Example,  in  Mexico,  where  was  a  Temple  dedicated 
to  their  chief  Idol  larger  than  Paul's  whose  Walls  were 
two  Inches  thick  bespread  or  beplaister'd  with  Human 
Blood,  sacrificed  to  their  Deities  or  Devils :  And  al- 
though I  cannot  excuse  the  Barbarity  or  Cruelty  of  the 
Spaniards  XowdiidiS  them,  yet,  as  on  God's  part,  it  was  just- 
ly brought  upon  them,  who  thereby  gave  them  their  own 
Blood  to  drink,  in  lieu  of  what  they  had  most  barba- 
rously shed  of  their  Neighbours.  And  indeed.  Provi- 
dence seemed  wholly  to  design  this  Bloody  Work  for 
the  Spanish  Nation,  and  not  for  the  English,  who  in 
their  Natures,  are  not  so  Cruel  as  the  other ;  witness 
the  Inquisition,  its  Cruelty  being  most  established  in 
Spain.  And,  courteous  Readers,  I  shall  give  you  some 
farther  Eminent  Remark  hereupon,  and  especially  in 
the  first  Settlement  of  Carolina,  where  the  Hand  of  God 
was  eminently  seen  in  thining  the  Indians,  to  make 
room  for  the  English.  As  for  Example  in  Carolina,  in 
which  were  seated  two  Potent  Nations,  called  the  Wes- 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA.  89 

toes,  and  SarannaJi,  which  contained  many  Thousands, 
who  broke  out  into  an  unusual  Civil  War,  and  thereby 
reduced  themselves  into  a  small  Number,  and  the  Wes- 
toes,  the  more  Crael  oi  the  two,  were  at  the  last  forced 
quite  out  of  that  Province,  and  the  Sarannahs  continued 
good  Friends  and  useful  Neighbours  to  the  English. 
But  again,  it  at  other  times  pleased  Almighty  God  to 
send  unusual  Sicknesses  amongst  them,  as  the  Small- 
pox, &c.  to  lessen  their  Numbers  ;  so  that  the  English, 
in  Comparison  to  the  Spaniard,  have  but  little  Indian 
Blood  to  answer  for.  Now  the  English  at  first  settling 
in  small  Numbers,  there  seemed  a  necessity  of  thining 
the  barbarous  Indian  Nations ;  and  therefore  since  our 
Cruelty  is  not  the  Instrument  thereof,  it  pleases  God  to 
send,  as  I  may  say,  an  Assyrian  Angel  to  do  it  himself 
Yet  will  I  not  totally  excuse  the  English,  as  being  wholly 
clear  of  the  Blood  of  the  Indians  in  some  Respects, 
which  I  at  present  pass  over.  But  surely  we  are  all 
much  to  blame,  in  being  so  negligent  of  executing  the 
proper  Means  for  their  Soul's  Salvation,  which  being  a 
gradual  Work,  the  introducing  a  Civilized  State  would 
be  a  good  and  stable  Preparatory  for  the  Gospel  State; 
even  as  the  Divine  Hand  of  Providence  prepared  us  by 
the  Romans,  as  all  Historians  mention  that  relate  to  us. 
I  shall  farther  add  one  late  more  immediate  Example 
of  God's  more  immediate  Hand,  in  making  a  Consump- 
tion upon  some  Indian  Nations  in  North  Carolina,  and 
that  was  in  my  time  at  the  River  Pernlicoe,  and  some 
Nations  adjoyning :  This  is  a  late  Settlement,  began 
about  eight  Years  since.  When  I  was  in  the  North 
about  eleven  Years  since,  I  was  told  then  of  a  great 
Mortality  that  fell  upon  the  Pernlicoe  Indians  ;  as  also, 
that  a  Nation  of  Indians  called  the  Coranine,  a  bloody 
and  barbarous  People,  were  most  of  them  out  off  by  a 

12 


90  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA. 

neighbouring  Nation :  Upon  which  I  said,  that  it  seem- 
ed to  me  as  if  God  had  an  Intention  speedily  to  plant  an 
English  Settlement  thereabouts  ;  which  accordingly  fell 
out  in  two  or  three  Years,  although  at  that  time  not  one 
Family  was  there.  I  shall  make  one  more  general  Re- 
mark, before  I  come  more  particularly  to  treat  of  Caro- 
lina :  and  that  is,  in  short,  to  give  an  Account  how  this 
vast  Continent  of  America  was  discovered,  that  lay  hid 
for  many  Ages.  The  Reader  may  reasonably  guess, 
that  before  the  Knowledge  of  the  Compass,  Navigation 
was  very  imperfect,  as  also  the  Knowledge  of  the  Globe ; 
yea,  so  Ignorant  was  former  Ages  that  one  Vigilius,  a 
Gentleman  of  Italy,  was  adjudged  a  Heretick,  for  affirm- 
ing Antipodes  ;  so  that  the  Providential  seeming  Casu- 
alty of  Human  Affairs,  appeared  rather  to  make  the 
Discovery,  than  any  premeditated  Skill  or  Art  of  Man. 
For,  according  to  the  best  Accounts,  a  certain  Spanish 
Colonel  sailing  into  the  West  Ocean  towards  the  Isles 
of  the  Canaries,  by  a  forcible  continued  Easterly  Wind, 
the  Vessel  was  drove  upon  the  American  Coast ;  but 
being  ill  provided  for  such  a  Voyage,  by  Hunger  and 
Hardship  all  died  save  the  Pilot  and  three  or  four  more ; 
who  afterwards  returning  back,  came  to  the  Maderaes, 
and  after  that  died  at  the  House  of  one  Christopher  Colon 
or  Columbus,  born  in  the  Territory  of  Genoe ;  and  the 
said  Pilot  left  him  his  Maps  and  Cards  of  his  Voyage ; 
and  he  himself  having  some  Skill  in  Navigation,  was 
much  affected  with  the  Relation,  and  was  very  desirous 
to  procure  the  same,  but  wanting  of  Wealth  to  get  Ship- 
ping, and  Protection  of  some  European  King  to  secure 
the  Riches  he  should  come  to  possess,  he  first  made  an 
Essay  by  his  Brother  Barthar  Colon  upon  Henry  Vllth  of 
England,  at  that  time  a  Wealthy  Prince ;  but  he  rejected 
the  same  as  a  Fantastical  Matter,  as  the  Discoveries 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA.  91 

both  of  Nature  and  Grace  are  at  the  first  looked  upon 
bj  most;  for  the  Beginning  of  the  Reformation  quickly 
succeeding  this  grand  Discovery  of  the  New  World, 
was  as  lightly  esteemed  at  first  in  the  Spiritual  Appear- 
ance of  it.  But  Colon  or  Columbus,  not  wholly  daunted 
at  the  first  Repulse,  was  introduced  into  the  Favour  of 
the  King  and  Queen  of  Spain,  about  Anno  1490,  the 
same  Year  that  the  Moors  lost  Granada,  their  principal 
Hold  at  that  time  in  Spain  ;  and  then  he  was  furnished 
with  three  Ships,  and  departed  for  the  Indies  in  the 
Kalends  of  September,  1491,  and  fell  in  first  with  the 
Canaries,  not  long  before  discovered,  Anno,  1405.  in- 
habited by  savage  and  wild  People  ;  he  sailed  thence 
33  Days,  and  discovering  no  Land,  his  Men  mutined, 
and  designed  to  cast  him  into  the  Sea ;  but  he  v/ith 
gentle  Words  and  large  Promises,  appeased  their  Fury, 
and  putting  them  off  some  few  Days,  he  discovered 
Land,  so  long  looked  for ;  and  so  by  Degrees  settled 
the  same,  as  Historians  at  large  declare. 

Nov/,  candid  Readers,  I  have  introduced  you  into 
the  general  Discovery  and  Spanish  Settlement  in  Amer- 
ica; I  shall  now  proceed  to  show  unto  you  the  Occasion 
of  the  Settlement  of  Carolina,  that  lies  in  the  very 
Heart  of  America. 

I  have  hinted  how  Henry  the  VHth  having  lost  the 
Opportunity  of  possessing  the  Spanish  Mines  of  Mexico, 
the  Fame  of  which  raised  up  the  Spirit  of  the  said 
Henry  to  get  some  share  of  this  American  Continent ; 
he  therefore  about  Anno  1500,  furnished  Sr.  Sebastian 
Cabot  with  Shipping,  who  was  born  at  Bristol,  though 
his  Father  was  a  Venetian,  to  make  a  farther  Disco- 
very, who  fell  upon  the  Coast  of  Florida,  and  having 
sailed  along  the  Continent  a  considerable  way  North- 
East,    returned   again,   but   made  no  Settlement  that 


92  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA. 

time.     And  although  the  English  were  the  first  Dis- 
coverers of  this  Noble  and  Fertile  Tract  of  Land,  from 
the  Latitade  of  25  to  36 J;  yet  was  no  Colony  planted 
in  it,  till  several  of  the  English  Nobility  stir'd  up  with  a 
pious  Zeal,  to  propagate  the  Christian  Religion ;    and 
with  a  Heroick  Spirit,   to  enlarge  the  Dominion  of  the 
Crown  of  England,  procured  a  large  and  ample  Patent, 
with  extraordinary  Privileges  both  for  themselves,  and 
the  People  that  would  Plant  and  Inhabit  them,  as  ap- 
pears by  the  Patent  of  Cha.  II.   unto   George  Duke  of 
Albermarle,  Echv.  E.  of  Clarendon,  W.  Earl  of  Craven, 
John  Lord  Berkleij,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  now  E.  of 
Shaftshury,    Sir    George    Cartwright,    after  that    Lord 
Cartrvright,  and  Sir  John  Colleton  Knight  and  Baronet, 
who  were  thereby  created  the  true  and  absolute  Lords 
and  Proprietors  of  the  Province  of  Carolina,  and  the 
same  to  be  held  in  Capite  of  the  Crown  of  England,  to 
Them,  their  Heirs,   and  Assigns  for  ever;    which  said 
Province  begins   at  the  Latitude  of  29   Degrees,  and 
reaches  to  the  Latitude  of  36j  North  Latitude  ;  and  the 
said  Province  is  to  enjoy  all  the  Privileges  and  Liber- 
ties that  the  Bishop  of  Durham,  hath  or  ought  to  have. 
These  aforesaid  Lords    therefore   enter'd  into  a  joynt 
Stock,  and  fitted  out  Ships  on  their  own  proper  Charg- 
es, to  transport  People  and  Cattle  thither,  to  the  value 
of  about  12000  Pounds,  besides  several  Thousands  laid 
out  by  single  Proprietors,  to  advance  the  Colony ;  and 
all  their  Rents  and  Incomes  have  since  the  Beginning 
been  also  expended  in  public  Services. 

I  shall  now  come  to  the  particular  Description  of  the 
Country  itself,  and  that  not  by  a  bare  Report,  but  as  an 
Eye  Witness.  I  have  hinted  how  Sir  Selastian  Cabot, 
at  the  Charge  o(  Henry  Vllth,  first  discovered  that  part 
of  the  Continent  which  is  called  Florida,  which  begins 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA.  93 

at  Cape  Florida,  in  the  Latitude  of  about  25,  and  runs 
North  East  to  3 6 J.  Now  Carolina,  only  is  its  Northern 
Part,  viz:  from  29  Degrees  to  36 J,  and  is  indeed  the 
very  Center  of  the  habitable  Part  of  the  Northern  Hemi- 
sphere ;  for  taking  it  to  be  Habitable  from  the  Equinoc- 
tial to  64  Degrees,  the  Centre  of  Carolina  lies  in  about 
32,  which  is  about  the  Middle  of  64,  lying  parallel  with 
the  Land  of  Canaan,  and  may  be  called  the  Temperate 
Zone  comparatively,  as  not  being  pestered  with  the 
violent  Heats  of  the  more  Southern  Colonies,  or  the 
extream  and  violent  Colds  of  the  more  Northern  Settle- 
ments. Its  Production  doth  answer  the  Title  of  Florida, 
quia  regio  est  Florida,  being  indeed  a  most  Fertile  and 
flourishing  Region,  every  thing  generally  growing  there, 
that  will  grow  in  any  Parts  of  Europe,  there  being 
already  many  sorts  of  Fruits,  as  Apples,  Pears,  Apri- 
cocks,  Nectarines,  &c.  and  they  that  once  tast  of  them, 
will  for  the  future  despise  the  watry  and  washee  Tast 
of  them  here  in  England ;  yet  doth  their  Plenty  make 
them  the  Food  of  the  Swine  of  their  Country;  for  from 
a  Stone  in  4  or  5  Years  they  come  to  be  bearing  Trees 
of  a  considerable  Bigness  ;  likewise  all  sorts  of  Grain,  as 
Weat,  Barly,  Peas,  &c.  and  I  have  measured  some 
Wheat  Ears  7  or  8  of  my  Inches  long.  It  produces 
also  Rice  the  best  of  the  known  World,  being  a  Com- 
modity for  Returns  home;  as  also  Pitch,  Tar,  Buck, 
Dear,  Bear-Skins,  and  Furs,  though  the  last  not  so  good 
as  the  Northern  ones  :  And  it  hath  already  such  Plenty 
of  Provisions,  as  Beef,  Pork,  &c.  that  it  furnishes  in  a 
great  measure,  Barhadoes,  Jamaica,  <^c.  The  Natives 
are  somewhat  Tawny,  occasioned,  in  a  great  measure, 
by  Oyling  their  Skins,  and  by  the  naked  Raies  of  the 
Sun:  They  are  generally  very  streight  Bodied,  and 
Comely  in  person,  and  quick  of  Apprehension;    and  I 


94  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CABOLINA. 

believe,  if  managed  discreetly,  may  many  of  them,  in  a 
few  Years,  become  Civilized,  and  then  very  capable  of 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.  The  Indians  are  great  Hunters, 
and  thereby  not  only  serviceable  to  kill  Dear,  &c.  for  to 
procure  Skins  for  Trade  with  us,  but  those  that  live  in 
Country  Plantations  procure  of  them  the  whole  Dear's 
Flesh,  and  will  bring  it  many  Miles  for  the  Value  of  about 
six  Pence,  and  a  wild  Turky  of  40  Pound,  for  the  Value 
of  two  Pence  Engl.  Value.  There  is  also  vast  Quanti- 
ties or  Numbers  of  wild  Ducks,  Geese,  Teal,  and  ex- 
ceeding Plenty  of  Fish,  &c.  and  that  which  makes  Pro- 
visions so  cheap,  is  the  shortness  of  the  Winter,  where 
they  need  not  to  mowe  for  Winter  Fodder,  and  so  can 
employ  their  Hands  in  raising  other  Commodities  as 
aforesaid.  It  is  a  Pity  they  should  be  farther  thined 
with  Civil  Quarrels,  being  their  Service  is  in  all  Re- 
spects so  necessary :  And  indeed  I  myself  their  late 
Govemour,  prevented  the  Ruin  and  Destruction  of  two 
small  Nations.     The  Manner  of  it  was  thus ; 

Two  Indians  in  drinking  Rum  Quarrelled,  and  the 
one  of  these  presently  kill'd  the  other ;  his  Wife  being 
by,  immediately,  with  a  Knife,  smote  off  his  Testicles, 
so  as  they  hung  only  by  a  Skin :  He  was  pursued  by 
my  Order,  I  happening  to  be  then  that  way,  being  about 
16  Miles  from  Town,  and  was  taken  in  a  Swamp,  and 
immediately  sent  to  Custody  mto  Cliarles  Toum;  and 
the  Nation  to  whom  the  slain  Indian  belonged  unto,  was 
acquainted  with  it,  whose  King,  &c.  came  to  the  Gover- 
nour,  and  desired  Justice  on  that  Indian;  some  of  the 
Indian's  Friends  would  have  brought  him  off,  as  is  usual ; 
But  nothing  but  his  Life  would  satisfie  that  Nation,  so 
he  was  ordered  to  be  shot  by  the  Kinsman  of  the  mur- 
thered  Indian.  Before  he  went  to  Execution,  the  hidian 
King  to  whom  he  belonged,  told  hini,  that  since  he  was 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA.  95 

to  die,  he  would  have  him  to  die  Kke  a  Man :  and  farther 
he  said,  I  have  often  forwam'd  you  of  Rum,  and  now 
3^ou  must  lose  your  Life  for  not  taking  my  Council ;  I 
hope  it  will  be  a  warning*  to  others. — When  he  came 
to  the  Tree,  he  desired  not  to  be  tyed  to  it,  but  to  stand 
loose,  for,  said  he,  I  will  not  budge  or  stir  when  he 
shoots  me ;  so  he  was  shot  in  the  Head,  and  immedi- 
ately died.  Now  the  Manner  of  the  Indians  in  such 
Cases,  is  to  War  one  Nation  against  the  other  to  revenge 
any  Blood-shed;  and  being  ordered  Satisfaction  this 
way,  no  war  ensued. 

The  Soil  of  Carolina  near  the  Sea  is  of  a  Sandy 
Mould,  appearing  ten  times  more  Barren  than  it  proves 
to  be :  Yea,  there  is  vast  Quantities  of  Vines  in  many 
Parts  on  the  Sea  Shore,  bearing  multitude  of  Grapes, 
where  one  would  wonder  they  should  get  Nourishment. 
But  farther  distant  up  in  the  Country,  the  Land  is  more 
mixed  with  a  blackish  Mould,  and  its  Foundation  gene- 
rally Clay,  good  for  Bricks,  it  is  beautified  with  odorife- 
rous and  fragrant  Woods,  pleasantly  green  all  the  year; 
as  the  Pine,  Cedar,  and  Cypress,  insomuch,  that  out  of 
Charles-Town  for  three  or  four  Miles,  called  the  Broad- 
way,  is  so  dehghtful  a  Road^  and  Walk  of  a  great 
breadth,  so  pleasantly  Green,  that  I  believe  no  Prince  in 
Europe,  by  all  their  Art,  can  make  so  pleasant  a  Sight 
for  the  whole  Year;  in  short,  its  natural  Fertility  and 
easy  Manurement,  is  apt  to  make  the  People  incline  to 
Sloth ;  for  should  they  be  as  industrious  as  the  Northern 
Colonies,  Riches  would  flow  in  upon  them :  And  I  am 
satisfied,  that  .a  Person  with  500/.  discreetly  laid  out  in. 
Old  England,  and  again  prudently  managed  in  Carolina, 
shall  in  a  few  Years  hve  in  as  much  Plentry,  yea  more, 

*  Now  Meeting  Street. 


96  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA. 

than  a  Man  of  300/.  a  Year  in  England;  and  if  he  con- 
tinue careful,  not  Covetous,  shall  increase  to  great  Wealth 
as  many  there  already  are  Witnesses,  and  many  more 
might  have  been,  if  Luxury  and  Intemperance  had  not 
ended  their  Days.  As  to  the  Air,  it  is  serene  and  ex- 
ceeding pleasant,  and  very  healthy  in  its  natural  Tem- 
perament, as  the  first  Planters  experienced,  seldom  hav- 
ing any  raging  Sickness  but  what  has  been  brought  from 
the  Southern  Colonies,  by  Vessels  coming  to  the  Town, 
as  the  late  Sickness  may  intimate ;  to  the  which  may  be 
added  the  Intemperance  of  too  many :  What  may  pro- 
perly belong  to  the  Country,  is  to  have  some  gentle 
touches  of  the  Agues  and  Feavers  in  Julij  and  August, 
especially  to  New-comers.  It  hath  a  Winter  Season  to 
beget  a  new  Spring,  and  thereby  the  Air  is  made  more 
suitable  to  our  Temperament.  I  was  there,  at  tv/ice, 
five  Years,  and  had  no  Sickness,  but  what  once  I  got  by 
a  careless  violent  Cold:  And  indeed,  by  my  Observa- 
tion, I  did  perceive  that  the  Feaver  and  Agues  were 
generally  gotten  by  carelessness  in  their  Cloathing, 
or  Intemperance  as  aforesaid.  What  I  write  is  not 
to  encourage  any  to  depend  upon  Natural  Causes, 
but  prudently  to  use  them  with  an  eye  to  God,  the 
Great  Lord  of  the  Universe  and  Disposer  of  all  Humane 
Affairs ;  yet  hath  he  justly  and  wisely  decreed,  that  such 
as  every  one  sows,  such  shall  he  reap. 

Carolina  also  abounds  with  many  Rivers,  now  found 
to  be  more  navigable  than  was  at  first  believed;  and  it 
was  prudently  contrived,  not  to  settle  at  the  first,  on  the 
most  Navigable,  but  on  Ashleij  and  Cooper  River,  whose 
Entrance  is  not  so  bold  as  others,  nor  having  so  much 
Water;  so  that  the  Enemy  and  Pirates,  &c.  have  been 
dishearten'd  from  disturbing  the  Settlement  until  this 
Year  where  they  were  repuls'd  with  the  loss  of  about 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    CAROLINA.  97 

Three  Hundred  Men.  The  New  Settlers  have  now 
great  Advantage  over  the  first  Planters,  being  they  can 
be  furnished  with  Stocks  of  Cattle  and  Corn,  &c.  at 
reasonable  Rates :  As  also,  they  have  an  Advantage  in 
seating  a  new  River  with  Indians  at  Peace  with  them, 
and  the  choice  of  the  best  Land;  And  I  understand  two 
New  Rivers  are  about  seating  one  in  the  South,  the 
other  in  the  North;  and  if  it  please  God  that  the  Union 
succeed  with  Scotland,  the  principal  place  in  Carolina, 
call'd  Port-Royal  may  be  seated  with  English  and  Scots 
in  a  considerable  Body,  because  't  is  a  bold  Port,  and 
also  a  Frontier  upon  the  Spaniard  at  Augustine,  which 
is  but  a  weak  Settlement,  about  200  Miles  to  the  South 
West  of  it.  The  Scots  did  about  20  Years  since,  begin 
a  Settlement  with  about  10  Families,  but  were  disposs'd 
by  the  Spaniards.  O  how  might  the  Scots,  that  go  now 
as  Switzers  to  serve  Foreign  Nations,  how  might  they, 
I  say,  strengthen  our  American  Colonies,  and  increase 
the  Trade  of  Great  Britain,  and  enrich  themselves  both 
at  Home  and  Abroad.  I  could  plainly  demonstrate 
what  a  great  Advantage  Carolina  is  to  the  Trade  of 
England,  by  consuming  our  Commodities  from  Home 
thither,  and  by  bringing  great  Duties  to  the  Crown,  by 
importing  Goods  or  Commodities  thence :  For  Charles 
To7vn  Trades  near  1000  Miles  into  the  Continent;  but 
to  enlarge  thereupon,  would  too  much  enlarge  this 
Treatise :  But  notwithstanding  all  the  Discouragements 
it  hath  met  withal,  which  are  many,  yet  17  Ships  this 
Year,  came  laden  from  Carolina  with  Rice,  Skins, 
Pitch  and  Tar,  &c.  in  the  Virginia  Fleet,  besides  seve- 
ral straggling  ones  :  And  indeed  London  would  be  much 
too  big,  if  it  were  only  the  Metropolis  of  England,  if  it 
were  not  also  the  Metropolis  of  America.  I  wish  I  could 
write  as  large  in  the  Propagation  of  the  Christian  Reli- 

13 


98  A    DESCRIPTION    OF    CAROLINA. 

gion  amongst  the  Natives,  but  the  Gospel  Spirit  is  not 
yet  so  gloriously  arisen,  as  to  seek  them  more  than 
theirs,  as  Paul  intimates :  Yet  I  believe,  that  in  time 
Trade  may  be  a  means,  to  introduce  the  Gospel  both  in 
the  West  and  East  Indies,  with  some  other  Discoveries 
that  are  a  breaking  forth  in  Nature,  as  the  Time  and 
Season  for  it  ripens. 

And,  Christian  Reader,  since  I  am  fallen  upon  this 
Subject  v^^hich  is  one  great  Branch  of  the  Patent,  as 
hinted  before,  M^hich  was  to  propagate  the  Gospel  of 
Christ;  I  doubt  there  hath  been  a  great  defect  therein, 
so  shall  give  a  brief  Essay  to  answer  that  pious  Clause 
aforesaid. 

And  because  the  Patent  is  granted  for  Propagating 
the  Gospel ;  and  the  most  peculiar  Obligation  conse- 
quentially thereby  lies  on  those  of  the  church  of  Eng- 
land :  I  shall  in  the  first  place  give  my  advice  to  them  on 
the  Indians  behalf:  I  do  therefore  adjudge  it  reasonable 
and  just  that  a  certain  Portion  of  Land  be  set  apart  for 
that  use,  to  be  added  to  proportionable  Income  from  the 
Society  ad  Propagmulum  fidem,  to  be  prudently  adminis- 
tered to  Missionaries  who  have  Zeal,  Courage  and 
Fidelity  for  such  a  Work ;  and  that  the  Government, 
on  no  pretence  of  their  Service  in  the  Plantations,  divert 
them  from  their  Commissionated  Service  ;  for  if  so,  a 
lazy  Spirit  will  quickly  lay  hold  on  them,  and  Flesh 
and  Blood  will  plead  for  ease ;  for  Hardships  and 
Perils  will  attend  them :  Wherefore,  as  Christ  said, 
'T  is  prudent  first  to  count  the  Cost  before  they  enter 
into  the  Work.  In  the  next  place,  I  advice,  that  such 
Missionaries  be  well  skilFd  in  Chymistry,  and  some  na- 
tural Genius  to  seek  the  Virtues  of  Herbs,  Metts  and 
Minerals,  &c.  and  the  prudent  Conduct  of  such  Skill, 
might  introduce  them  into  a  good   Opinion  with  the 


A    DESCRIPTION    OP    CAROLINA.  99 

Indians ;  and  let  them  xmderstand  we  were  once  such 
as  themselves,  but  were  by  a  Noble  Heroick  Nation 
reduc'd  into  a  Civiliz'd  State  ;  and  then  had  the  Gospel 
preach'd  to  us  by  Just  and  Holy  Men  who  sought  our 
salvation  with  the  hazard  of  their  Lives,  &cc.  Let 
them  have  sent  with  them  (and  if  not  far  from  the 
English)  some  English  Children,  to  introduce  familiarity 
with  the  Indian  Children,  that  so  they  may  be  brought  to 
learn  Letters,  &c. 

I  remember  I  have  read  in  History  of  a  Welsh  Prince, 
who  advised  his  Sons,  ready  to  Quarrel  about  the 
Division  of  his  poor  and  barren  Lands,  that  they 
should  sail  to  the  Westward,  where  they  would  meet 
better  Land,  and  Territories  large  enough  for  all  their 
Posterities. 

Now  I  may  apply  this  spiritually ;  If  Christian  Ma- 
gistrates and  Ministers  would  forsake  their  Quarrels 
for  poor  Trifles  and  barren  Opinions,  and  encourage 
each  other  to  plant  substantial  practical  Truths,  they 
may  now  sail  East  or  West,  and  meet  with  people  to 
make  a  plentiful  harvest  on,  both  in  a  Temporal  an 
Spiritual  respect,  which  should  redound  more  to  their 
Glory  and  Advantage,  than  all  the  Unchristian  Quarrels 
and  Practices  to  promote  unfruitful  Doctrines  that  are 
computed  to  have  shed  more  Christian  Blood  than  all 
the  Heathenish  Ten  Persecutions.  I  hope  the  Reader 
will  not  think  this  mixture  of  Spirituals  with  Temporals 
improper  or  impertinent,  since  the  original  Design  of  the 
Patent  was  the  Promotion  of  both. 

I  shall  next  proceed  to  treat  of  the  Government,  as 
granted  by  King  Charles  H.  to  the  Eight  Lords  Proprie- 
tors aforesaid,  who  again  by  common  consent,  center'd 
that  Power  in  Four  of  them,  viz,  in  a  Palatine  of  their 
own  election,  and  Three  more  who  were  impower'd  to 


100  A   DESCRIPTION    OF    CAROLINA. 

execute  the  whole  Powers  of  the  Charter,  and  is  call'd 
a  Palatines  Court ;  their  Deputies  in  Carolina  executing^ 
the  same,  as  from  their  Principals  they  are  directed : 
For  each  Proprietor  hath  his  Deputy  there.  The  Char- 
ter generally  as  in  other  Charters,  agrees  in  Royal 
Privileges  and  Powers ;  but  especially  at  that  time  it 
had  an  Over-plus  Power  to  grant  Liberty  of  Con- 
science, altho'  at  Home  was  a  hot  persecuting  Time  ; 
as  also  a  Power  to  create  a  nobility;  yet  not  to 
have  the  same  Titles  as  here  in  England,  and  therefore 
they  are  there  by  Patent  under  the  Great  Seal  of  the 
Provinces,  called  Landgraves  and  Cassocks,  in  lieu  of 
Earls  and  Lords  :  and  are  by  their  Titles  to  sit  with  the 
Lords  Proprietors,  Deputies,  and  together  make  an 
Upper-House  and  Lower-House,  being  elected  by  the 
People ;  and  these  Landgraves  are  to  have  four  Ba- 
ronies annex'd  to  their  Dignities,  of  6000  Acres  each 
Barony  ;  and  the  Cassocks  two  Baronies,  of  3000  each; 
and  not  to  be  separated  away  by  sale  of  any  part ;  only 
they  have  power  to  let  out  a  third  part  for  three  Lives, 
for  to  raise  Portions  for  younger  children.  And  many 
Dissenters  went  over,  Men  of  Estates,  as  also  many 
whom  the  variety  of  Fortune  had  engaged  to  seek  their 
Fortunes,  in  hopes  of  better  success  in  this  New  World  : 
And  truly  such  as  better  improved  theirnew  Stock  of  Wit, 
generally  had  no  cause  to  repent  of  their  Transplantation 
into  this  Fertile  and  pleasant  Land ;  Yet  had  they  at 
first  many  Difficulties  and  dangers  to  cope  withal,  and 
therefore  the  most  desperate  Fortunes  first  ventured 
over  to  break  the  Ice,  which  being  generally  the  Ill- 
livers  of  the  pretended  Church-men,  altho'  the  Proprie- 
tors commissionated  one  Colonel  West  their  Governour, 
a  moderate,  just,  pious  and  valiant  person ;  yet  having 
a  Council  of  the  loose  principled  Men,  \\\ej  grew  very 
unruly,  that  they  had  like  to  have  Ruin'd  the  Colony, 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    CAROLINA.  101 

by  Abusing  the  Indians,  whom  in  prudence  they  ought 
to  have  obhged  in  the  highest  degree,  and  so  brought  an 
Indian  War  on  the  Country,  hke  that  in  the  first  plant- 
ing of  Virginia,  in  which  several  were  cut  off;  but  the 
Governour  by  his  Manly  prudence,  at  last,  extinguish'd 
the  same  in  a  great  measure,  and  so  left  Matters  a  little 
better  settled  to  Governour  Jos.  Morton,  in  whose  time 
General  Blake's  Brother,  with  many  Dissenters  came  to 
Carolina;  which  Blake  being  a  wise  and  prudent  per- 
son, of  an  heroick  temper  of  Spirit,  strengthen'd  the  Hands 
of  sober  inclined  People,  and  kept  under  the  First  Loose 
and  Extravagant  Spirit;  but  not  being  able  to  extin- 
guish it,  it  broke  out  and  got  head  in  the  Government  of 
James  Colleton  oiBarhadoes,  and  Sir  Peter  Colleton's  Bro- 
ther :  And  this  Party  grew  so  strong  among  the  Common 
People,  that  they  chose  Members  to  oppose  whatsoever 
the  Governour  requested;  insomuch  that  they  would 
not  settle  the  Militia  Act,  tho'  their  own  security  (in  a 
Natural  way)  depended  on  it.  And  the  grounds  of  their 
farther  strength  was  by  reason  of  the  Discontent  the 
People  lay  under  about  the  Tenure  of  their  Lands,  and 
payment  of  their  Quietrance  which  was  afterwards  rec- 
tified by  me.  After  Collet07i  succeeded  one Smyth,  a 

wise,  sober  and  moderate  and  well-living  Man,  who  grew 
so  uneasy  in  the  Government,  by  reason  that  he  could 
not  satisfy  the  People  in  their  Demands,  that  he  writ 
over  An.  1694,  "  That  it  was  impossible  to  settle  the 
Country,  except  a  Proprietor  himself  was '  sent  over 
with  full  power  to  Heal  their  Grievances,  &c."  And 
now  let  the  Reader  consider,  that  the  ensuing  Account 
hath  been  for  several  Years  supprest  by  me,  least  I 
should  thereby  seem  to  exalt  my  own  Actions;  but 
there  is  now  at  this  Juncture  some  more  than  ordinary 
Cause  so  to  pubhsh  the  same  as  follows  :  For  the  Pro- 
prietors took  Governour  SmijtNs  Letter  under   Consi- 


102  A    DESCRIPTION    OF    CAROLINA. 

deration ;  and  the  Lord  Ashly  was  pitch'd  upon  by  all 
the  Lords  who  was  then  in  the  Country,  a  person  every 
way  qualified  for  so  good  a  Work ;  who  desired  to  be 
excused,  because  his  Father's  Affairs  lay  upon  his 
Hands  ;  upon  which  Account  I  was  then  pitch'd  upon, 
and  intrusted  with  large  and  Ample  powers  ;  and  when 
I  arriv'd,  I  found  all  Matters  in  great  Confusion,  and 
every  faction  apply'd  themselves  to  me  in  hopes  of 
Relief;  I  appeased  them  with  kind  and  gentle  Words, 
and  so  soon  as  possible  call'd  an  Assembly  to  whom  I 
spoke  as  follows : 

Friends  and  Representatives  of  the  People. 

The  Occasion  of  my  coming  hither  I  think  good  to  acquaint  you  withal 
at  this  time,  that  so  you  may  the  better  judge  of  the  Proprietors  and  my 
own  Intentions  in  this  my  Undertaking. 

There  came  various  Letters  from  Carolina^  signifying  the  great 
Discontent  and  Division  the  People  lay  under ;  but  especially  one  dated 
presently  after  Sir  Peter  Colleton^ s  Death ;  wherein  it  was  intimated, 
That  except  a  Proprietor  himself  came  over,  it  was  impossible  to  recon- 
cile the  Matter,  so  the  Lord  Ashly  was  nominated,  but  his  Affairs  not  per- 
mitting, the  Matter  was  moved  to  me ;  and  after  a  very  mature  Delibera- 
tion, and  by  the  Encouragements  of  several  CaroZmians  then  in  England 
my  Going  was  concluded  on ;  and  they  have  endued  with  a  consider- 
able Power  of  Trust,  and  I  hope  I  shall  faithfully  and  impartially  answer 
their  Expectations :  And  I  believe  I  may  appeal  to  your  Serious  Ra- 
tional Observations,  whether  I  have  not  already  so  allay'd  your  Heats, 
as  that  the  distinguishing  Titles  thereof  are  so  much  wither  d  away ; 
and  I  hope  this  Meeting  with  you,  will  wholly  extinguish  them,  so  that 
a  solid  Settlement  of  this  hopeful  Colony  will  ensue,  and  by  so  doing, 
your  Posterity  will  bless  God  for  so  Happy  a  Conjunction;  and  the 
Proprietors  will  not  repent  of  this  Great  Trust  reposed  in  me,  nor  myself 
repine  at  the  many  Dangers  and  Hardships  I  have  undergone  to  my 
arrival  hither :  And  now  you  have  heard  of  the  P  roprietors  Intention  of 
sending  me  hither,  I  doubt  not  but  the  Peoples  Intentions  of  Choosing 
you  were  much  of  the  same  nature;  I  advise  you  therefore,  to  proceed 
soberly  and  mildly  in  this  weighty  Concern ;  and  I  question  not  but  we 
shall  answer  you  in  all  Things  that  are  reasonable  and  honourable  for 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    CAROLINA.  103 

us  to  do  :  And  now  Friends,  I  have  given  you  the  reason  of  my  Coming, 
I  shall  give  you  the  Reasons  of  my  calling  you  so  soon,  which  was  the 
consideration  of  my  own  Mortality,  and  that  such  a  considerable  Trust 
might  not  expire  useless  to  you ;  for  my  Commission  is  recorded  to  be 
no  President  of  future  Governours :  as  also  a  late  Petition  of  many  of 
the  Inhabitants  of  this  Colony :  I  hope  the  consideration  hereof  will 
quicken  and  direct  you  into  a  speedy  conclusion  of  what  the  People 
may  reasonably  expect  from  you ;  and  I  hope  the  God  of  Peace  will 
prosper  your  Counsels  herein. 

The   Assembly  reply  ; 

To  the  Right  Honourable   John  Archdale,   Esq.    Governour 
of  Carolina. 

May  it  please  your  Honour, 

We  heartily  thank  Almighty  God  for  your  Honours  Safe  Arrival  in 
this  Place,  after  so  many  Difficulties  and  Dangers,  mention'd  in  your 
Honours  most  acceptable  Speech ;  and  we  return  your  Honour  our  most 
sincere  and  hearty  Thanks  for  the  Progress  your  Honour  has  already 
made  since  your  Arrival  towards  the  Settlement  of  this  Place ;  but  our 
most  particular  Thanks  again  are  for  your  candid  Expressions,  and  the 
good  Favour  and  great  Kindness  shewn  to  the  People  of  this  Place ;  and 
do  assure  your  Honour,  That  we  on  our  Parts,  will  heartily  endeavour 
to  give  our  utmost  Assistance  to  the  attaining  your  so  much  desired 
Wish,  the  perfect  Settlement  of  this  Place,  which  will  redound  to  the 
Honour  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  and  the  Happiness  of  the  People. 

But,  Courteous  Readers,  after  this  fair  Blossomin 
Season  to  produce  Peace  and  Tranquility  to  the  Coun- 
try, some  endeavour'd  to  sow  Seed  of  Contention, 
thereby  to  nip  the  same ;  insomuch  that  they  sat  six 
Weeks  under  Civil  Broils  and  Heats ;  but  at  length  re- 
collecting their  Minds  into  a  cooler  Frame  of  Spirit,  my 
Patience  was  a  great  means  to  overcome  them;  so  that 
in  the  conclusion  all  Matters  ended  amicably,  as  the 
Address  intimates. 


104  A    DESCRIPTION    OF    CAROLINA. 


The  Humble  Address  and  Recognition  of  Thanks  by  the 
Commons  assem^bled  in  Charles-Town.  To  the  Right 
Honourable  the  True  and  Absolute  Lord's  Proprietors ; 
and  to  the  Right  Honourable  John  Archdale,  Esq. ;  Go- 
vernour  of  Carolina. 

Right  Honourable, 

We  the  Representatives  of  the  Free-men  of  South  Carolina,  being  pro- 
foundly sensible  of  your  most  gracious  Inclinations,  Condescensions 
and  Honours  in  Commission ating  and  Investing  the  Right  Honourable 
John  Archdale  Esq. ;  Governour,  with  such  large  and  ample  Powers 
for  the  encouragement  of  us  the  Inhabitants  of  this  your  Colony,  which 
was  so  highly  necessary  conducing  to  the  Peopling,  Settlmg  and  Safety 
thereof^  most  humbly  Recognize,  and  most  sincerely  and  cordially  thank 
your  Lordships  for  the  same,  and  for  the  Remission  of  some  Arrears 
of  Rents,  the  undeniable  manifestation  of  your  Honours  Parental  care 
of  us,  living  in  this  your  Colony  :  And  we  the  Commons  now,  assembled, 
no  less  sensible  of  the  prudent,  industrious  and  indefatigable  Care  and 
Management  of  the  said  Powers  by  the  Right  Honourable  John  Arch- 
dale Esq. ;  do  in  most  humble  manner  acknowledge  the  same  ;  and  that 
we  doubt  not  but  that  the  Fruits  thereof  will  be  the  Peace,  Welfare,  and 
Tranquility,  Plenty,  Prosperity  and  Safety  of  this  Colony  and  the  Peo- 
ple therein ;  For  the  Acts  of  grace  you  have  so  seasonably  condescended 
unto,  have  removed  all  former  Doubts,  Jealousies,  and  Discourage- 
ments of  us  the  People;  and  hath  laid  a  firm  and  sure  Foundation 
on  which  may  be  erected  a  most  glorious  Superstructure  to  the  Honour 
of  the  Lords  Proprietors  and  you  our  Governour,  which  we  do,  and  for- 
ever shall  be  obliged  most  heartily  to  own  as  the  Production  of  the 
Wisdom,  Discretion,  Patience  and  Labour  of  the  Honourable  John 
Archdale,  Esq. ;  our  Governour ;  of  whom  we  the  Commons  request,  to 
return  this  our  Recognition  of  Thanks  to  your  Lordships ;  and  we  shall 
humbly  pray,  &c. 

Jonathan  Amery,  ^Speaker. 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    CAROLINA.  105 

But  it  may  be  qaeried  by  the  Reader,  But  what  was 
the  Effect  of  all  this  ?  To  the  which  I  answer,  That 
the  Fame  hereof  quickly  spread  itself  to  all  the  American 
Plantations,  as  several  Letters  I  receiv'd  intimated ; 
among  which  I  shall  mention  one  from  New-England, 
from  a  single  person  of  Note  there,  on  the  behalf  of  a 
Number  of  People,  and  is  as  follows,  bearing  Date 
from  Ipswich,  26th  Jtme,  1696. 

Great  Sir, 

'  I  had  not  thus  boldly  intruded  my  self  in  this  man- 
ner, or  been  the  least  Interruption  to  your  public  Cares, 
but  that  I  am  commanded  to  do  this  Service  for  a  con- 
siderable Number  of  Householders,  that  purpose  (with 
the  Favour  of  God's  Providence,  and  your  Honours 
Countenance)  to  Transport  themselves  into  South  Caro- 
lina: For  we  having  heard  the  Fame  of  South  Caro- 
lina, as  it  now  stands  Circumstanced  with  the  honour 
of  a  true  English  Government,  with  Virtuous  and  Dis- 
creet Men  Ministers  in  it,  who  now  design  the  promot- 
ing of  the  Gospel  for  the  increase  of  Virtue  amongst 
the  Inhabitants,  as  well  as  outward  Trade  and  Business ; 
and  considering,  that  the  well  Peopling  of  that  Southern 
Colony  of  the  English  Government  or  Monarchy  may, 
with  God's  blessing,  be  a  Bulwark  (a)  to  all  the 
Northern  Parts,  and  a  Means  to  gain  all  the  Lands  to 
Cape  Florida  (which  are  ours  by  the  first  Discovery  of 
Sir  Sebastian  Cabot,  at  the  Charges  of  K.  Henry  VII,  to 
the  Crown  of  England;  and  being  credibly  inform'd  of 
the  Soil  and  Climate,  promise,  that   all  adventurers, 

(a)  It  is  remarkable  that  the  French  Landed  at  Sewee,  where  many 
of  New-England  Men  were  planted,  and  beat  oiF  the  Fi-ench,  and 
killed  many  of  them,  and  this  was  Ten  Years  after  this  Letter. 

14 


106  A    DESCRIPTION    OF    CAROLINA. 

with  the  Favour  of  God,  shall  reap  Recompence  as  to 
Temporal  Blessmgs. 

'  Sir,  These  and  such  like  Reasons  have  encouraged 
and  produced  the  aforesaid  Resolutions  :  And  farther, 
Sir,  your  great  Character  doth  embolden  us,  for  it  is 
such  as  may  be  said,  without  Flattery,  as  was  said  of 
Titus  Vespasian,  that  noble  Roman,  Ad  gratificandum 
assiduus  Notura  fuit :  So  praying  for  blessings  upon 
your  honourable  Person,  Concerns  and  Province,  I 
rest,  &c.' 

Now  that  the  Reader  may  plainly  discern,  that  the 
Almighty  and  Omnicient  God,  takes  cognizance  of  Hu- 
man Affairs,  and  directs  them  by  a  wise  and  prudent 
Chain  of  Causes,  I  shall  relate  some  remarkable  Pas- 
sages that  happened  quickly  after  that  I  entered  upon 
the  Government,  which  was  the  17th  of  August,  1695. 
There  is  a  Nation  of  Indians  call'd  the  Yammasees,  who 
formerly  liv'd  under  the  Spanish  Government,  but  now 
live  under  the  English,  about  80  Miles  from  Charles- 
Town.  Some  of  these  hidians  going  a  Hunthig,  about 
200  miles  to  the  Southward,  met  with  some  Spanish 
Indians  that  lived  about  Sancta  Maria,  not  far  from 
Augustine,  the  Seat  of  the  Spanish  Government;  and 
taking  them  Prisoners,  brought  them  Home,  designing 
to  sell  them  for  Slaves  to  Barbadoes  or  Jamaica  as  was 
usual ;  but  I  understanding  thereof,  sent  for  their  King, 
and  ordered  him  to  bring  these  Indians  with  him  to 
Charles- Town,  which  accordingly  he  did:  There  were 
three  Men  and  one  Woman ;  they  could  speak  Spanish, 
and  I  had  a  Jew  for  an  Interpreter,  so  upon  examina- 
tion I  found  they  profess'd  the  Christian  Religion  as  the 
Papists  do ;  upon  which  I  thought  in  a  most  peculiar 
manner,  they  ought  to  be  freed  from  Slavery ;  and 
thereupon  order'd  the  King  to  carry  them  to  AugustiTiCj 


A    DESCRIPTION   OF    CAROLINA.  107 

to  the  Spanish  Govern  our  with  a  Letter,  desiring  an 
Answer  relating  to  the  receit  of  them;  who  having 
receiv'd  them;  sent  me  the  following  Letter:  So  far  as 
relates  to  this  Affair,  I  copy  it  forth : 

Sir, 

'I  have  receiv'd  your  Letter  with  the  four  Indians, 
three  Men  and  one  Woman,  being  the  same  that  were 
taken  from  a  Town  of  my  Jurisdiction ;  and  I  do 
promise,  If  ever  it  lies  in  my  power  to  manifest  a  reci- 
procal Kindness,  I  shall  gratefully  do  the  same ;  and 
shall  always  keep  and  observe  a  good  Correspondence 
and  Friendship  with  you,  as  our  Soveraigns  at  home, 
being  in  strict  Alliance  and  Amity  expect  from  us,  &c.' 

After  this  he  sends  over  an  Indian  civilized  King, 
with  a  fresh  return  of  Thanks,  but  complains  of  Mis- 
chief done  to  his  Indians  by  some  of  our  hidians ;  to  the 
which  I  answered,  'That  I  knew  nothing  before,  and 
did  not  approve  of  it;  and  found,  on  Enquiry,  that  the 
Indians  call'd  the  Apalachicoloes  had  kill'd  three  Church- 
cates,  and  were  conducted  by  White  men ;  but  I  have 
taken  care  for  the  future,  by  sending  an  Express  to 
command  them,  that  they  do  not  commit  any  Acts  of 
Hostility  on  any  of  your  Indians,  and  do  expect  there 
be  given  the  like  orders  to  your  Vassals :  And  surely 
you  cannot  be  ignorant  of  the  Temper  of  the  Indians 
as  well  as  myself,  how  hard  a  matter  it  is  to  keep  them 
from  taking  Revenge  for  any  injuries  received,  to  the 
third  and  fourth  Generation ;  making  personal  Murders 
oftentimes  National  Quarrels  ;  notwithstanding  which, 
I  hope  to  prevent  it  for  the  future,  being  that  they  live 
in  great  Obedience  to  our  Government ;  but  if  they 
should  happen  to  do  any  small  Mischief  to  each  other, 
I  desire   you  not  to  send    any  more  White  Persons 


]08  aVdescription  of  Carolina. 

amongst  them,  least  you  thereby  make  the  Quarrel 
National.  I  do  assure  you  that  nothing  shall  be  want- 
ing on  my  part  to  maintain  a  good  Amity  and  Friend- 
ship with  3^ou,  and  I  doubt  not  of  the  same  on  your 
part:  So  wishing  you  health  and  long  Life; 
'I  am 

'your  assured  Friend 

Jo.  Arclidale. 

Now  to  show  the  Providence  of  God  in  the  Affair  of 
transmitting  the  Indians  back,  as  I  intimated  before,  it 
happened  that  some  few  Months  after  that  an  English 
Vessel  from  Jamaica,  bound  to  Carolina,  was  Cast- 
away to  the  Southward  of  Augusti?ie  amongst  barbarous 
Indians,  w^ho  in  a  wonderful  manner  were  preserv'd 
from  being  murdered  by  them,  so  that  they  came  at 
last  to  Augustine;  and  when  the  Spanish  Governour 
heard  of  it  he  sent  them  all  thing's  necessary,  retaliatino^ 
my  Kindness  in  a  peculiar  manner.  Two  of  these 
were  call'd  Robert  Barrow  and  Edward  Wardell,  pub- 
lic Friends,  Men  of  great  Zeal,  Piety  and  Integrity. 

Another  eminent  Remark  of  Divine  Providence  was 
as  follows :  One  Colonel  Bull  of  the  Council,  trading 
wdth  some  Northern  Indians  near  Cape  Fear,  told  me 
that  those  Indians  desired  to  come  under  the  English 
Government ;  the  Reason  of  it  was  this ;  some  of  our 
Neicrhbourincr  Indians  had  killed  and  taken  Prisoners 
some  of  the  Cape  Fear  Indians,  and  sold  them  for 
Slaves;  and  complaining  to  the  Traders,  they  told 
them,  that  if  they  came  under  the  English  Government 
the  other  Indians  durst  not  touch  them  :  So  they  came, 
and  I  told  them  that  I  had  heard  of  their  barbarous 
Cruelty  on  Men  Cast-away  on  their  Coast;  I  therefore 
now.  expected   a   Civil  Usage  from   them,  to  any  that 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    CAROLINA.  109 

should  unhappily  be  Cast-away  on  their  Coast ;  which 
they  promised,  and  faithfully  perform'd,  as  follows. 

For  about  Six  Weeks  after  a  Vessel  coming  from 
New-England  with  52  Passangers,  was  Cast-away  at 
Cape  Fear,  who  finding  that  it  was  a  Place  of  savage 
Indians,  despaired  of  their  Lives ;  but  being  willing  to 
preserve  Life  as  long  as  they  could,  they  Trench'd 
themselves  in,  and  took  some  provisions  with  them : 
The  Indians  quickly  came  down,  and  with  Signs  of 
Friendship,  laying  their  Hands  on  their  Breasts,  invited 
them  out,  and  shew'd  them  Fish  and  Corn  :  But  they, 
not  willing  to  trust  them,  kept  still  in  their  Retrench- 
ment till  Famine  began  to  creep  on,  and  then,  like  the 
Samaritan  Lepers,  in  the  2  Kings,  vii.  Chap,  who  being 
like  to  perish  with  Famine,  ventured  to  go  to  the  Host 
that  beseiged  Samaria,  as  at  large  is  there  related  :  So 
these  being  ready  to  starve,  some  few  ventured  out  to 
the  Indians,  who  received  them  kindly  and  furnish'd 
them  with  Provisions  for  the  rest,  who  thereby  being 
embolden'd,  came  all  forth,  and  were  by  the  King  at  his 
Town  well  treated ;  and  four  or  five  of  them  came  to 
Town,  and  I  procured  a  Vessel  to  fetch  them  to  Charles- 
Town,  which  is  about  100  Miles  from  thence,  and  all 
€ame  safe  but  one  Child  that  died.  But  now  I  shall 
wind  up  and  conclude  the  Scene  of  my  Government^ 
having  settled  the  Country ;  I  returned  for  England, 
being  not  sent  for  Home,  and  left  one  Blake  Governour, 
who  became  a  Proprietor,  and  continued  to  manage 
Matters  to  the  general  satisfaction  of  the  Country  for 
about  four  or  five  Years,  but  then  dying,  the  Lords  De- 
puties chose  one  Capt.  More  for  Governour,  until  the 
Lords  should  Commissionate  one  from  England.  In 
his  time  began  the  War  with  France  and  Spain ;  and 
being  a  Man  of  an  active  spirit,  and  hoping  to  advance 


110  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA. 

his  Fortune  by  an  Exploit  against  Augustine,  without 
any  Orders  from  Engla?id;  he  proposed  his  Mind  to  an 
Assembly,  who  condescending-  thereunto,  he  march'd 
against  Augustine,  took  the  Town,  the  Inhabitants,  with 
their  Substance,  flying  into  the  Castle,  and  they  having 
no  Mortars  could  not  bring  them  to  yield ;  but  the  Be- 
sieged sending  to  the  Havanah,  a  Spanish  Town  on 
Cuba,  procured  4  or  5  small  Men  of  War,  who  came  to 
their  Relief  before  Major  Daniel  could  come  from  Ja- 
maica, who  was  by  Govemour  More  sent  thither  for 
Mortars  ;  and  so  More  was  forc'd  to  break  off  the  Siege, 
and  return  to  Charles- Town;  which  vast  expence  upon 
such  an  Infant  Colony,  was  ready  to  make  a  Mutiny 
among  the  People ;  for  many  Vessels  had  been  press'd 
to  that  Service,  which  being  burned  by  the  Governour's 
Order,  because  they  should  not  fall  into  the  Spafiiards 
Hands,  the  Masters  demanded  Satisfaction;  and  an  As- 
sembly being  call'd,  great  Debates  and  Divisions  arose, 
which,  like  a  Flame,  grew  greater  and  greater :  In  the 
midst  of  which,  Sir  Nath.  Johnson's  Commission  came 
for  to  be  Governour,  who  by  a  Chimical  Wit,  Zeal  and 
Art,  transmuted  or  turn'd  this  Civil  Difference  into  a 
Religious  Controversy ;  and  so  setting  up  a  Standard 
for  those  call'd  the  High-Church,  ventured  at  all  to  ex- 
clude all  the  Dissenters  out  of  the  Assembly,  as  being 
those  principally  that  were  for  a  strict  Examination  into 
the  Grounds  and  Causes  of  the  Miscarriage  of  the  Augus- 
tine Expedition;  which  was,  after  great  Complaints  of 
undue  Elections,  and  by  the  great  Subtilty  and  Activity 
of  the  Governing  Party,  carry'd  by  one  Man,  to  exclude 
the  Dissenters  by  a  more  severe  and  rigid  Exclusion, 
than  the  Occasional  Bill  design'd  here  m  England,  to  the 
which  I  refer  the  Reader;  and  was  afterwards,  by  the 
general  Complaint  of  that  Party  to  the  House  of  Lords^ 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA.  Ill 

adjudged  so  severe  and  illegal,  as  to  cause  an  Address 
to  the  Queen,  which  she  was  pleased  to  accept,  and  to 
command  the  Lord's  Proprietors  not  to  suffer  the  same 
to  be  further  put  in  execution,  and  declared  the  same 
Law  void  and  null;  as  also  an  Act  to  establish  the 
Church  of  England  there,  and  a  Maintenance  for  the 
same ;  which,  notwithstanding  its  splendid  gloss,  savour'd 
so  much  of  a  persecuting  Spirit,  and  of  a  haughty  Do- 
minion over  the  Clergy  it  self,  that  it  was  declared  void 
and  null  by  the  Queen's  gracious  and  prudent  Command 
to  the  Lord's  Proprietors  ;  which  I  hope  will  so  far  allay 
and  cool  that  fiery  Spirit  in  the  Government,  as  to  make 
room  for  a  more  peaceable  and  heahng  Spirit,  when  any 
one  not  concerned  in  the  Broils  arrives,  Commissionated 
for  that  End  and  Purpose  :  And  indeed  they  have  been 
fairly  alarum'd  by  the  late  Assault  upon  them  by  the 
French  and  Sponiards :  in  which  affair  Sir  Nath.  John- 
son, as  a  Souldier,  behaved  himself  with  great  Courage 
and  Prudence ;  but  that  is  not  a  sufficient  Qualification 
to  reconcile  intestine  Heats  and  Broils,  which,  like  a 
Canlier,  will  enfeeble  the  vital  Spirit  of  that  Colony; 
for  the  united  strength  of  those  term'd  the  High-Church 
and  Dissenters,  are  little  enough  to  secure  the  same : 
And  beside,  the  immediate  Hand  of  God  by  the  late 
Pestilential  Feaver,  is  not  only  a  sign  of  His  Displea- 
sure against  their  Unchristian  Broils,  but  it  hath  thereby 
so  weakened  and  thined  the  People,  that  it  seems  im- 
possible for  the  High-Church  to  be  a  sufficient  strength 
to  support  that  Colony,  it  being  the  Southern  Bulwark 
of  our  American  Colonies  on  that  vast  Continent. 

It  is  stupendious  to  consider,  how  passionate  and  pre- 
posterous Zeal,  not  only  vails  but  stupffies,  oftentimes, 
the  Rational  Powers :  For  cannot  Dissenters  Kill  Wolves 
and  Bears,  &c.  as  well  as  Church-men ;  as  also  Fell  Trees 


112  ■  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA. 

and  Clear  Ground  for  Plantations,  and  be  as  capable  of 
defending  the  same  generally  as  well  as  the  other.  Surely 
Pennsijlvania  can  bear  witness  to  what  I  write ;  and 
Carolina  falls  in  no  way  short  of  it  in  its  Natural  Produc- 
tion to  the  industrious  Planter :  But  our  late  Accounts 
intimate  the  Repeal  of  the  two  former  Laws,  which  may 
be  a  preparatory  Stroak,  if  discreetly  managed,  to  allay 
their  Annimosities.  I  would  not  be  supposed  to  justify 
every  step  of  the  Dissenters  which  they  made  in  these 
Broils,  being  their  first  Agent  seem'd  not  a  Person  suita- 
bly qualified  to  Represent  their  State  here,  not  that  he 
wanted  Wit  but  Temper,  which  is  a  necessary  Qualifi- 
cation in  Persons  in  that  Employ;  But  it  is  not  my 
Business  to  Open  the  Sore,  but  to  Heal  it,  if  possible ; 
and  now  we  are  like  to  have  some  considerable  Num- 
bers of  Scotch  Britains,  Men  generally  Ingenious  and  In- 
dustrious, who  are  like  to  disperse  themselves  into  our 
American  Colonies,  who  are  a  People  generally  zealous 
for  Liberty  and  Property,  and  will  by  no  Perswasion  be 
attracted  to  any  part  where  their  Native  Rights  are  in- 
vaded, or  who  rather  expect  an  Enlargement  thereof  in 
a  Wilderness  Country,  than  an  Abridgement  thereof,  as 
that  prudent  Management  of  William  Penn  hath  estab- 
lished in  his  Colony,  and  was  first  intended  for  Caro- 
lina, in  a  Scheme  laid  by  the  Earl  of  Shaftshiiry,  &c. 
but  secretly  over-thrown  by  that  Party  of  High  pretend- 
ed Church-men  that  have  lain  Latent  from  the  Begin- 
ning, as  I  have  before  intimated.  Our  Colonies  are 
very  weak  at  this  time,  but  the  Divine  Hand  of  Provi- 
dence seems  to  be  ready  to  supply  our  Deficiency  by  a 
Union,  contrary  to  that  Spirit  that  hath  wrought  the  Dis- 
sentions  in  Carolina.  Now  if  the  Reader  be  so  curious 
as  to  Query  how  I  did  so  speedily  and  solidly  Heal  their 
former  Annimosities,  as  I  have  before  intimated,  I  shall 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAKOLINA.  113 

gratify  his  Curiosity  herein :  My  Power  was  very  large, 
yet  did  I  not  wholly  exclude  the  High- Church  Party  at 
that  time  out  of  the  essential  Part  of  the  Government, 
but  mix'd  two  Moderate  Church-men  to  one  High- 
Church  Man  in  the  Council,  whereby  the  Ballance  of 
Government  was  preserved  peaceable  and  quiet  in  my 
Time,  and  so  left  and  continued  several  Years,  whilst 
Blake  whom  I  left  Governour  lived.  And  the  said  Blake, 
though  accounted  in  some  measure  a  Dissenter,  yet  did 
he  procure  the  Act  for  about  150/.  a  Year  to  be  settled 
on  a  Church  of  Efigland  Ministry,  which  continues  to  this 
Day.  And  indeed  in  such  mixture  as  I  have  intimated, 
the  High-Church  Party  was  useful  to  me,  being  Men  of 
good  parts,  very  useful  under  Good  conduct;  their  Ad- 
vice being  by  me  found  very  necessary  in  many  particu- 
lar Cases. 

But  to  proceed  farther  in  this  Treatise,  the  Design 
whereof  is  to  make  Carolina  a  suitable  Bulwark  to  our 
American  Colonies :  I  can  farther  plainly  demonstrate, 
that  False  Measures  have  been  taken  for  that  Infant 
Settlement  that  should  have  been  strengthened  with 
Encouraging  Terms,  for  all  sorts  of  Dissenters  to  enjoy 
Liberty  and  Property  in  whatsoever  their  laborious 
Hands  unproves  from  a  Wilderness  possess'd  by  Wolves, 
Bears  and  barbarous*  J?2Jm?25,  who  ruin'd  themselves  by 
intestine  Wars,  to  make  room  for  us ;  and  we  more 
Foolish,  because  more  Capacitated  by  Human  Policy  to 
strengthen  our  selves  against  a  Foreign  Power,  yet  suf- 
fer a  sort  of  Transmigration  of  the  Wolfish  and  Brutish 
Nature  to  enter  our  Spirits,  to  make  ourselves  a  Prey  to 
our  Enemies,  that  seek  to  Revenge  themselves  for  our 
foolish  Attempt  and  unchristian  Usage  on  the  Inhabi- 
tants of  Augustine,  where  the  Plunder  of  their  Churches 
or  places  of  Worship  intailed  on  it  such  a  Curse,  that 

15 


114  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA. 

mucli  of  it  fell  into  the  Hands  of  the  French,  the  Ship 
being-  taken  near  England,  and  the  whole  Design  of  it 
for  Negroe  Slaves,  niin'd  thereby. 

Now  as  some  there  seeks  to  set  up  a  sort  of  an  arbri- 
trary  Vestry  to  inhance  the  Labours  of  the  Industrious 
Dissenters,  who  have  enough  to  do  to  maintain  their  own 
Ministry;  how  unreasonable  doth  it  look  to  force  Main- 
tenance from  them,  by  excludbig  their  true  Representa- 
tives, to  compass  so  foolish  a  Design  in  the  most  untime- 
ly Season  that  possible  could  happen  to  that  Country ;  for 
one  of  the  most  considerable  amongst  them  writ  over  to 
his  Friend  in  England,  That  without  that  Excluding  Act 
they  could  not  have  obtain'd  the  other.     Now  as  the 
Civil  Power  doth  endanger  it  self  by  grasping  at  more 
than    its    Essential  Right  can   justly  and  reasonably 
claim ;    so  the  High- Church  by   over-topmg  its  Power 
in  too  great  a  Severity,  in  forsakmg  the  Golden  Rule 
of  doing  as  they  would  be  done  by,  may  so  weaken  the 
Foundation  of  the  Ecclesiastical  and  Civil  State  of  that 
Country,  that  so  they  may  both  sink  into  a  ruinous  con- 
dition by  losmg  their  main  Sinews  and  Strength,  which 
(as  Solomon  saith)  hes  m  the  multitude  of  its  Inhabi- 
tants :  And  this  I  am  satisfied  in,  and  have  some  experi- 
mental reason  for  what  I  say.  That  if  the  extraordinary 
Fertihty  and  Pleasantness  of  the  Country  had  not  been 
an  alluring  and  binding  obhgation  to  most  Dissenters 
there  settled,  they  had  left  the  High-Church  to  have  been 
a  Prey  to  the  Wolves  and  Bears,  Indians  and  Foreign 
Enemies :  But  I  hope  now  they  will  see  their  Folly,  and 
embarque  in  one  common  Interest,  and  thereby  they  will 
reap  the  Benefit  of  our  union  at  Home,  by  Numbers  of 
Industrious  and  Ingenious  Scottish  Britains,  w^ho  other- 
wise will  never  come  to  be  imposed  upon  by  a  High- 
flown  Church  Party;  and  without  such  a  Strength  I  see 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA.  il5 

not  how  it  can  stand  long,  let  the  Government  be  in  any 
Hand  whatsoever.  I  have  discharged  my  Conscience  in 
a  Christian  and  truly  British  Spirit,  that  desires  notliing 
more  than  the  Spiritual  and  Temporal  Welfare  of  Great 
Britain;  and  hope,  pray  for,  and  cordially  desire  the 
long  and  prosperous  Reign  of  our  most  gracious  QUEEN, 
whom  the  Divine  Hand  of  Providence  hath  placed  on 
the  Throne,  to  be  as  a  Nursing  Mother  to  all  Her  Chil- 
dren committed  to  Her  Charge.  And  I  also  heartily 
wish  that  the  inferior  Sphere  of  the  Royal  Power  com- 
mitted in  Trust  to  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  that  Province 
of  Carolina,  may  Govern  it  with  a  measure  of  the  same 
Prudence,  Justice,  and  truly  Christian  Affection,  as  She 
more  immediately  Governs  the  entire  Body  of  Her  Sub- 
jects. 

Now  since  the  Reader  may  expect  the  Names  of  the 
present  Proprietors,  they  are  as  follows; 

JOHN  Lord  GRANVILLE,  Palatine. 


John  Lord  Cartrvright, 
William  Lord  Craven, 
Maurice   Ashley,    Brother 
and   Heir    Apparent  to 
the  Earl  of  Shaftsbury, 


Sir  John  Colleton,  Baronet, 
Jos.  Blake,  Esq; 
Nicholas  Trott,  Esq; 
John  Archdale. 


I  am  now  willing  to  give  my  Advice  to  heal  up  the 
present  Breaches,  Rents  and  Divisions  amongst  the  In- 
habitants of  Carolina;  and  I  am  somewhat  encouraged 
hereunto  by  the  good  success  I  formerly  had  amongst 
them,  as  I  have  at  large  declared ;  and  I  have  Reasons, 
both  Spiritual  and  Temporal  for  this  my  xldmonition. 
On  a  Spiritual  Account  I  would  have  all  to  consider  that 
their  Lot  is  fallen,  by  the  Divine  Hand  of  Providence, 
into  the  American  Canaan,  a  Land  that  flows  with  Milk 


116  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA. 

and  Honey ;  v/hich  ought  to  be  a  pressing  Engagement 
on  every  Soul  to  bless  God  in  a  most  peculiar  manner 
for  those  Temporal  Enjoyments  that  many  other  Nations 
and  Provinces  want  the  Benefit  of:  And  let  them  con- 
sider, that  although  God  had  some  peculiar  Love  for  the 
Children  of  Israel,  yet  they  held  their  Land  of  Canaan 
on  Terms  and  Conditions ;  and  their  disobedience  and 
Neglect  of  God's  Laws,  occasion'd  God  to  remove  them 
out  of  the  same  ;  Yet  before  He  utterly  Excluded  them, 
he  brought  various  Corporeal  Punislmients  upon  them 
to  alarum  them  to  Repentance,  and  a  forsaking  of  the 
Evil  of  their  Ways :     And  when  His  Chastising  Hand 
did  not  prevail  upon  them,  their  Utter  Destruction  hn- 
mediately  ensued.     Now  it  is  apparent  that  God  has 
brought  a  Pestilential  Fever  amongst  the  CaroUniajis, 
that  hath  swept  away  many  in  the  Town,  which  ought 
to  stir  up  a  Consideration  in  the  Remainder  of  them, 
that  it  is  His  infinite  mercy  that  hath  spared  them :  Let 
them  also  consider  that  God  hath  shaken  the  Rod  of  his 
Power  over  their  Heads  by  a  Foreign  Enemy,  which 
many   Times  is  an  occasion  to  Unite,   not  only  to  a 
General  and  Common  Defence,  but  also  it  creates  an 
Affection  where  before  it  was  wanting :    But  if  upon 
these  and  the  like  Considerations,  no  Good  Effect  ensue 
thereby,  it  is  then  a  dangerous  Prognostick  that  more 
severe   Judgments  will  follow.      It  is  recorded  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures ;  0  that  Men  would  consider  their  Ways; 
for  the  Act  of  Consideration  is  much  in  the  Soul's  pow- 
er ;  and  is  one  of  the  Powers  being  purchased  by  Christ 
for  us  after  the  Fall,  whereby  a  Capacity  comes  to  be 
awaken'd   in  us,   to   choose  the  Good  and  refuse  the 
Evil;    and  I  believe  the  Soul  never  exerts  it,   but  that 
some  secret  Concomitancy  of  God's  Power  is  witness'd 
thereby  to  the  benefit  of  every  such  Soul.     One  thing 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA.  117 

more  I  would  lay  to  their  Consideration,  That  by  intes- 
tine Quarrels  and  Annimosities  they  loose  the  essential 
Badge  of  Christianity,  and  so  can  never  be  Instruments 
to  propogate  the  Gospel  amongst  the  Heathen,  who  will 
never  be  won  to  the  Gospel  of  Peace  by  the  Banner 
War.  Much  more  might  be  said  on  a  Spiritual  Ac- 
count, but  this  at  present  may  suffice  :  I  shall  now  pro- 
ceed on  a  Temporal  Account,  to  reason  them  into  a 
Unity ;  and  that  is  first,  because  their  own  Lives  will 
be  more  comfortable  under  a  friendly  Conversation ;  and, 
secondly,  it  will  encourage  others  to  come  amongst 
them,  which  will  wonderfully  strengthen  the  Colony 
and  increase  Trade,  and  make  their  Lands  of  considera- 
ble more  value. 

Now,  although  I  seem  principally  to  lay  the  Occasion- 
al Quarrel  on  the  High-Church  Party,  yet  I  would  not 
be  so  understood  as  to  clear  the  other  in  all  respects ; 
for  in  Heats  and  Annimosities  many  unjustifiable  Words 
and  Actions  may  arise  and  be  committed :  I  am  satisfied 
whence  the  original  Spring  of  them  arose,  but  because 
they  are  generally  dead  on  both  sides,  Christian  Chari- 
ty forbids  the  raking  into  their  Ashes  ;  and  't  is  pity  their 
Quarrels  should  survive  them :  They  shall  never  find 
Fewel  here,  so  far  as  lies  in  my  power.  I  can  truly 
say,  I  write  with  Love  and  Affection  to  the  whole  Body 
of  the  Inhabitants ;  having  been  so  considerable  a  Pro- 
moter of  Planting  the  said  Colony  with  Men  of  Piety 
and  Industry,  and  that  brought  considerable  Free 
Estates  with  them,  insomuch  that  were  they  all  remov- 
ed again  out  of  it,  whose  coming  thither  I  occasion'd,  it 
would  be  a  thin  Colony  :  I  could  name  them,  but  for- 
bear at  present :  So  I  am  not  for  excluding  any,  as  I 
have  hinted ;  for  I  am  satisfied  that  it  is  possible  to  Re- 
coBLcile  and  Unite  them,  there  being  a  great  President  of 


118  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA. 

Wisdom  and  Christian  Affection  in  the  Governing  Pow- 
ers at  Home  in  the  Union  of  2  Kingdoms  into  1  Com- 
mon Interest,  for  the  Strength  and  Advantage  of  both, 
and  Disadvantage  of  our  Enemies  Abroad  and  at  Home : 
And  I  can  truly  say,  I  rejoyce  to  see  effected  what  for 
some  Years  I  have  so  much  desired,  and  so  earnestly 
endeavoured,  in  my  Capacity  and  Station,  upon  all  ar- 
gumentative Occasions;  which  have  not  been  a  few, 
and  with  considerable  Persons  of  eminent  Quality,  who 
have  not  despised  the  Reasons  I  have  given  for  the 
same. 

Since  I  wrote  the  former  Part  I  understand  that  Silk 
is  come  unto  great  Improvement,  some  Families  making 
40  or  50/.  a  Year  and  their  Plantation  Work  not  neglect- 
ed ;  little  Neg-ro  Children  being-  serviceable  in  Feeding- 
the  Silk-worms,  &c.  And  I  must  give  Sir  Nathaniel 
Johnson  the  Reputation  of  being  the  principal  Promoter 
hereof,  and  of  a  considerable  Vineyard  also.  I  further 
understand,  That  the  Inhabitants  work  up  the  Silk  into 
Druggets  mix'd  with  Wool,  which  is  an  excellent  W^ear 
for  that  Country :  And  so  advantageously  is  the  Coun- 
try scituated,  that  there  is  little  or  no  need  of  Providing 
Fodder  for  Cattle  in  the  Winter ;  so  that  a  Cow  is  gras- 
ed  near  as  cheap  as  a  Sheep  here  in  England ;  but  all 
these  Natural  Conveniences  and  Benefits  may  be  blast- 
ed through  imprudent  Discouragement,  that  may  hinder 
fresh  Inhabitants  from  coming  amongst  them.  0  what 
need  is  there  of  Wisdom  to  nourish  up  an  Infant  Colony 
with  all  sorts  of  industrious  People,  as  is  in  a  great 
measure  presidented  in  Pennsylvania,  <^-c.  and  was  the 
Beginning  of  the  Carolina  Settlement ;  and  I  hope  will 
be  the  future  Method  to  strengthen  the  same  :  And 
hereby  the  Design  of  the  Patent  will  be  truly  answer'd 
which  is  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  of  Peace  among 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA.  119 

the  Heathen,  and  the  Enlargement  of  the  Dominion  of 
the  Crown  of  England,  which  is  now  already  spread 
many  Hundred  of  Miles  to  the  Westward;  which  Design 
was  ingeniously  laid  and  begun  by  Governour  Blake  in 
his  Time.  And  that  discreet  Preparative  Stroak  of  Trade 
that  he  begun,  which  if  prudently  and  wisely  managed, 
it  may  beget  such  a  Familiarity  and  Interest  with  the 
Indians,  as  in  time  to  introduce  a  Spiritual  Benefit  by 
the  Preaching  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  among  them : 
For  God  oftentimes  by  the  wise  adapting  of  Temporal 
Causes,  makes  them  to  co-operate  for  the  production  of 
Spiritual  Benefits  :  And  so  the  Romans  by  a  Civil  Tax- 
ation fulfilled  the  Prophecy  of  Christ  to  be  Born  at 
Bethlehem ;  and  this  Taxation  figured  forth  Christ  who 
was  to  lay  a  Spiritual  Yoke  on  all  the  Sons  of  Men : 
For  Taxation  imports  the  Yoke  of  the  Civil  Power  upon 
them. 

Since  what  I  have  before  written  the  former  men- 
tion'd  Acts  that  gave  so  bad  an  Influence  on  the  Caro- 
lina Affairs,  are  both  of  them  actually  repealed,  so  that 
once  more  there  seems  to  present  it  self  a  fair  Pros- 
pect for  an  amiable  Reconciliation,  if  true  and  proper 
Method  be  pursued  for  the  encouragement  of  all  that 
desire  to  retire  into  this  New  World  to  lead  an  indus- 
trious, quiet,  godly  and  sober  Life,  without  that  disquiet- 
ing and  turmoiling  Care  which  naturally  attends  most 
European  Affairs.  Now,  candid  Readers,  I  shall  con- 
clude with  what  our  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour  hath  in- 
timated. That  the  Harvest  is  great  and  the  Labourers  few, 
and  that  it  is  our  duty  to  praij  to  the  Lord  of  the  Harvest 
that  he  rvould  be  pleased  to  send  more  Labourers  into  the 
Harvest,  Matth.  9.  Chap,  37,  38.  Ver.  Now  these  La- 
bourers seems  to  me  to  be  such  as  will  take  Pains  and 
venture  their  Lives  for  to  propagate  the  Gospel  of  Christ 


120  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  CAROLINA. 

amoTigst  these  barbarous  Nations,  which  God,  as  I  have 
before  intimated,  hath  discovered  in  this  last  ao-e  of  the 
World :  And  it  is  my  Belief,  that  Christ  will  intercede 
to  have  this  Prayer  answered,  and  will  incline  the 
Hearts  of  many  to  begin  this  glorious  Work. 


FINIS. 


PROPOSALS 


BY 


MR.   PETER    PURRY, 

OF  NEWFCHATEL, 


FOR 


ENCOURAGEMENT 

OF  SUCH 

AS  SHOULD  AGREE  TO  ACCOMPANY  HIM  TO  CAROLINA,  TO  SETTLE 
A  NEW  COLONY. 

AND,  ALSO, 

A  DESCRIPTION 

OF   THE 

PROVINCE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 

DRAWN  UP  AT  CHARLES-TOWN, 

_,      IN  SEPTEMBER,  173L 


PROPOSALS,    Etc. 

Th^re  are  only  two  Metliods,  viz.  one  for  Persons 
to  go  as  Servants,  the  other  to  settle  on  their  own  Ac- 
count. 

1.  Those  who  are  desirous  to  go  as  Servants  must  be 
Carpenters,  Vine  Planters,  Husbandmen,  or  good  La- 
bourers. 

2.  They  must  be  such  as  are  not  very  poor,  but  in  a 
Condition  to  carry  with  them  what  is  sufficient  to  sup- 
port their  common  necessity. 

3.  They  must  have  at  least  3  or  4  good  Shirts,  and 
a  Suit  of  Clothes  each. 

4.  They  afe  to  have  each  for  their  Wages  100  Livres 
yearly,  which  make  50  Crowns  of  the  Money  of  Newf- 
chatelin  Swisserlandyhui  their  Wages  are  not  to  com- 
mence till  the  Day  of  their  arrival  in  Carolina. 

5.  Expert  Carpenters  shall  have  suitable  Encour- 
agement. 

6.  The  time  of  their  Contract  shall  be  3  Years, 
reckoning  from  the  Day  of  their  arrival  in  that  Coun- 
try. 

7.  They  shall  be  supply'd  in  part  of  their  Wages 
with  Money  to  come  froM  SMsserland,  till  they  imbark 
for  Carolina. 

8.  TReiV  W^g^s  ^hall  bfe  p^id  th^m  regularly  at  the 
end  of  every  Year ;  for  security  whereof  they  shall 
have  the  Fruits  of  their  Labour,  and  generally  all  that 
c£tn  be  procured  for  them,  whether  Moveables  or  Imove- 
ables. 

9.  Victuals  and  Lodgings  from  ihpJB^f  ^^  ^^ii*  I^" 


PROPOSALS,  ETC.  123 

barkation  shall  not  be  put  to  their  Account,  nor  their 
Passage  by  Sea. 

10.  They  shail  have  ?'Wihat  Money  they  want  ad- 
vanced during  the  Term  of  their  Service  in  part  of 
their  Wages  to  buy  Linnen,  Clothes  and  all  other 
Necessaries. 

11.  If  they  happen  to  fall  Sick  they  shall  be  lodg'd 
and  nourished  Gratis,  but  their  wages  sha.ll  not  go  on 
during  their  Illness,  or  that  they  are  not  able  to  Work. 

12.  They  shall  serve  after  Recovery,  the  time  they 
had  lost  during  theii'  Sickness. 

13.  What  goes  to  pay  Physicians  or  Surgeons,  shall 
be  put  to  their  Accompt. 

As  to  those  who  go  to  settle  on  their  own  Account, 
they  must  have  at  least  50  Crowns  each,  because  their 
Passage  by  Sea,  and  Victuals,  will  cost  from  20  to  25 
,Ci;owns,  and  the  rest  of  .the.I^loney  shcill  go  to  procure 
diyeijs  things  wjiich  li^iU  .^e  Jib^plp^ely  .nqpe^ss^ry  for 
.$he  ^py^ge. 


A    DESCRIPTION 


OF    THE 


PROVINCE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 

DRAWN  UP  AT  CHARLES-TOWN, 

IN    SEPTEMBER,  1731. 


The  King  of  Great  Britain  having  about  3  Years 
ago  purchased  this  Province  of  the  Lords  Proprietors 
thereof,  has  since  studied  to  make  Agriculture,  Com- 
merce and  Navigation,  flourish  in  it.  His  Majesty  im- 
mediately nominated  Col.  Johnson  a  worthy  Gentleman, 
to  be  Governour  thereof;  who,  at  his  Departure  for 
Carolina,  receiv'd  divers  Orders  and  Instructions,  but 
in  particular  was  directed  instantly  to  mark  out  Places 
in  a  proper  Situation  for  building  Eleven  Towns,  viz. 

Two  on  the  River  Alatamaha, 

Two  on  the  River  Savanna, 

One  at  the  Head  of  the  River  Poupon, 

Two  at  the  River  Santee, 

One  at  the  River  Watery, 

One  at  the  Black  River, 

One  at  the  River  Wacomau,  and 

One  at  the  River  Pedee. 

The  District  of  each  of  these  Towns  is  to  contain 
the  Extent  of  20,000  Acres  of  Laud,  formed  into  a 


PROVINCE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.         125 

Square,  bordering  on  the  River,  and  divided  into  shares 
of  50  Acres  for  each  Man,  Woman,  or  Child,  of  one 
Family;  which  may  be  augmented  as  the  Planters 
shall  be  in  a  Condition  to  cultivate  a  larger  Quantity  of 
Ground,  and  every  one  of  them  shall  have  an  equal 
Share  of  the  better  and  worse  Lands,  and  also  the 
same  right  on  the  River. 

Each  Town  shall  be  formed  into  a  Parish,  the  Ex- 
tent whereof  shall  be  about  6  miles  round  the  Town  on 
the  same  side  of  the  River ;  and  as  soon  as  a  Parish 
shall  contain  100  Masters  of  Fajnilies,  they  may  send 
Two  Members  to  the  Assembly  of  the  Province,  and 
enjoy  the  same  Privilege  as  the  other  Parishes  of  the 
Province. 

The  Ground  of  each  Town  shall  be  speedily  marked 
out,  and  shall  belong  in  common  to  all  the  inhabitants, 
till  it  shall  be  distributed  in  particular  Shares  to  each 
of  them.  There  are  to  be  300  Acres  of  Land  near 
the  Town  which  shall  be  common  for  ever,  without 
being  charged  with  Rent,  and  no  Person  shall,  by  Vir- 
tue of  any  former  Grant,  take  Possession  of  any  Land 
within  6  Miles  of  each  Town. 

The  rent  shall  be  4s  per  Ann.  for  every  100  Acres, 
except  that  for  the  first  10  Years  the  Lands  shall  be 
entirely  free,  and  all  those  that  shall  settle  in  the  said 
Towns  shall  enjoy  the  same  advantages. 

His  Majesty  further  grants  to  every  European  Servant, 
whether  Man  or  Woman,  50  Acres  of  Land  free  of  all 
Rents  for  10  Years,  which  shall  be  distributed  to  them 
after  having  served  their  Master  for  the  Time  agreed  on. 

In  consequence  of  these  Instructions  M.  Purry  was 
permitted  to  go  and  chuse  on  the  Borders  of  the  River 
Savanna  Land  proper  to  build  the  Town  of  Purryshurg 
upon  ;  and  having  found  it  such  as  he  wish'd,  the  Gov- 


126  A    DESCEIPTION    OF    THE 

ernment  made  him  a  grant  thereof  under  the  Great 
Seal  of  the  Provmce,  dated  the  1st  of  Sept.  1731.  and 
at  the  same  Time  publish'd  throughout  the  whole  Coun- 
try a  Prohibition  to  all  sorts  of  persons  to  go  and  set- 
tle on  the  said  Land,  which  is  already  called  the  Swiss 
Quarter. 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  Execution  of  this  Undertak- 
ing in  the  best  manner,  the  Assembly  granted  to  the 
said  M.  Furry  400/.  Sterling^  and  Provisions  sufficient 
for  the  Maintenance  of  300  Persons  for  one  Year,  pro- 
vided they  be  all  Persons  of  good  Repute,  and  SrDxs.s 
Protestants,  and  that  they  come  to  Caro/m«  within  t^e 
Space  of  2  Years. 

The  River  Savanna  is  one  of  the  finest  in  all  Caro- 
lina, the  Water  good,  and  stored  with  excellent  Fish : 
It  is  about  the  Largeness  of  the  Rhyne,  and  there  are  2 
Forts  already  built  upon  it,  one  of  which  call'd  Palla- 
cholaas,  is  100  Miles  from  the  Mouth  thereof,  and  the 
other  call'd  Savanna  Town,  about  300  Miles;  and 
altho'  there  is  not  usually  above  20  Men  to  garrison  the 
first  Fort,  and  about  40  in  the  other  yet  the  Indians 
have  never  dared  to  attack  them. 

The  Town  of  Purryshurg  will  be  situated  30  Miles 
from  the  Sea,  and  about  7  miles  from  the  highest 
Tide ;  the  Land  about  it  is  a  most  delightful  Plain,  and 
the  greatest  part  very  good  Soil,  especially  for  Pastur- 
age, and  the  rest  proper  enough  for  some  productions. 
It  was  formerly  call'd  the  great  Yaw a^^ee  Por/,  and  is 
esteem'd  by  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Province  the  best 
place  in  all  Carolina,  altho'  never  yet  possessed  but  by 
the  Indians,  who  were  driven  from  thence  by  the  Eng- 
lish several  Years  ag-o,  and  have  never  dared  to  return 
thither.  All  sorts  of  Trees  and  Plants  vdll  grow  there, 
as  well  as  can  be  wish'd,  particularly  Vines,  Wheat, 


PROVINCE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  121 

BMley,  Oats,  Pease,  Beans^  Hemp,  Flax,  Cotton, 
Tobacco,  Indico,  Olives,  Orange  trees  and  Citron  trees, 
as  also  White  Mulberry  trees  for  feeding  of  Silkvt^orms. 
The  Lands  will  not  be  difficult  to  clear,  because  there  is 
neither  stones  nor  brambles,  but  only  great  Trees,  which 
do  not  grow  very  thick ;  so  that  more  Land  may  be 
clear'd  there  in  one  Week,  than  conld  be  done  in  Swiss- 
erland  in  a  Month.  The  custom  of  the  Country  is,  that 
after  having  cut  down  these  great  trees,  they  leave  the 
Stumps  for  4  or  ^  Years  to  rot,  and  afterwards  easily  root 
them  up,  in  order  to  manure  the  Land. 

'T  is  very  certain,  that  Carolina  is  in  general  an  excel- 
lent Country.  'T is  true,  the  Ground  is  sandy;  but  then 
't  is  a  sand  impregnated  with  Salt  and  Niter,  so  that  it 
brings  forth  in  great  Abundance,  as  the  like  Soil  does 
in  divers  parts  of  Europe :  But  what  is  more  particular 
to  Carolina,  there  are  a  great  Number  of  Plantations 
that  have  been  continually  Cultivated  for  near  60  Years, 
which  yet  still  produce  great  plenty  without  ever  being 
Manured  by  the  least  Dung,  for  they  never  lay  any  on 
theit  Grounds  :  The  Planter  only  turns  up  the  super- 
ficies of  the  Earth,  and  all  that  he  plants  and  sows 
therein  quickly  grows  and  matures :  Those  who  under- 
stand ever  so  Uttle  of  Agriculture  will  be  obhged  to 
own,  that  if  the  Lands  in  Europe  were  not  constantly 
manured,  their  strength  would  be  so  exhausted,  that  at 
length  the  Crops  would  not  pay  for  the  Seed.  But  a 
Man  who  shall  have  a  little  Land  in  Carolina,  and  who 
is  not  willing  to  work  above  2  or  3  Hours  a  Day,  may 
very  easily  live  there. 

Another  consideration  deserving  our  Notice  is  the 
Ptogress  of  the  first  Colonies,  their  sudden  Advance- 
ment, the  Riches  of  the  present  Inhabitants,  the  great 
JNimiber  of  public  Expences  for  which  they  provide^ 


128        PROVINCE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

the  great  Trade  which  they  carry  on  at  present,  and 
lastly  their  Misfortunes  and  Losses  ;  which  are  entkely 
repair'd.  The  better  to  comprehend  these  matters,  we 
shall  only  make  the  following  observations.  1.  That 
there  were  no  people  in  Carolina  till  about  60  Years 
ago,  for  the  English  did  not  begin  to  send  any  thither 
till  the  Year  1670.  2.  That  they  had  at  first  very  fatal 
Beginnings,  being  afflicted  with  Sicknesses,  and  even 
the  Plague,  which  daily  diminish'd  the  Number  of  the 
people.  3.  That  cruel,  destructive  Divisions  sprung  up 
among  them.  4.  That  they  had  a  very  bad  Govern- 
ment under  the  Lords  Proprietors,  being  almost  without 
Order,  Justice  or  Discipline.  5.  That  at  a  certain  time 
the  pyrates  interrupted  their  Trade  and  Navigation. 
6.  That  they  have  often  had  great  Droughts.  7.  That 
a  terrible  Fire  consumed  almost  all  Charles  Town. 
8.  That  they  have  been  at  great  Expence  in  Fortifica- 
tions, public  Edifices,  Churches,  (^c.  9.  That  they  have 
often  sustain'd  long  Wars  with  the  French,  Spaniards, 
and  particularly  with  the  Indians,  who  once  united 
altogether  to  destroy  the  whole  province.  10.  That 
notwithstanding  all  these  misfortunes,  the  People  of 
Carolina,  except  those  who  give  themselves  up  to 
Debauchery,  are  all  rich,  either  in  Slaves,  Furniture, 
Cloaths,  Plate,  Jewels,  or  other  Merchandizes,  but 
especially  in  Cattle ;  which  shews  the  Goodness  of  the 
Country  they  inhabit. 

The  most  part  of  those  who  came  first  thither  were 
very  poor  and  miserable;  Several  of  those  who  are 
most  considerable  went  but  as  Servants. 

The  Trade  of  Carolina  is  now  so  considerable,  that 
of  late  Years  there  has  saiFd  from  thence  Annually 
above  200  Ships,  laden  with  merchandizes  of  the 
Growth  of  the  Country,  besides  3  Ships  of  War,  which 


PROVINCE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  129 

they  commonly  have  for  the  Security  of  the  Commerce, 
and  last  Winter  they  had  constantly  5,  the  least  of  which 
had  above  100  Men  on  Board.  It  appears  by  the  Cus- 
tomhouse Entries  from  March  1730,  to  March  1731,  that 
there  sailed  within  that  time  from  Charles-Town  207 
Ships  most  of  them  for  England,  which  carried  among 
other  Goods  41957  Barrels  of  Rice  about  500  Pound 
Weight  per  Barrel,  10754  Barrels  of  Pitch,  2063  of  Tar^ 
and  1159  of  Turpentine ;  of  Deer  Skins  300  Casks,  con- 
taining 8  or  900  each;  besides  avast  Quantity  of  J/zt/mw 
Com,  Pease,  Beans,  cfc.  Beef,  Pork,  and  other  salted 
Flesh,  Beams,  Planks,  and  Timber  for  Building,  most 
part  of  Cedar,  Cypress,  Sassafras,  Oak,  Walnut  and 
Pine. 

They  carry  on  a  great  Trade  with  the  Indians,  from 
whom  they  get  these  great  Quantities  of  Deer  Skins,  and 
those  of  other  Wild  Beasts,  in  Exchange  for  which  they 
give  them  only  Lead,  Powdor,  coarse  Cloth,  Vermillion, 
Iron  Ware,  and  some  other  Goods,  by  which  they  have 
a  very  considerable  Profit. 

The  great  Number  of  Slaves  makes  another  part  of 
the  niches  of  this  Province,  there  being  above  40,000 
Negroes  which  are  worth  one  with  another  100  Crowns 
each. 

There  are  between  5  and  600  Houses  in  Charles  Tonm., 
the  most  of  which  are  very  costly;  besides  5  handsome 
Churches,  viz.  one  for  those  of  the  Church  of  England, 
one  for  the  Presbyterians,  one  for  the  Anabaptists,  one 
for  the  Quakers,  and  one  for  the  French.  If  you  travel 
into  the  Country,  you  will  see  stately  Buildings,  noble 
Castles,  and  an  infinite  Number  of  all  sorts  of  Cattle. 
If  it  be  ask'd  what  has  produced  all  this  ?  the  Answer  is, 
^Tis  only  the  rich  Land  o/"  Carolina. 

There  is  not  the  least  Appearance  but  that  the  Pros- 

1.7 


130  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE 

perity  of  this  Province  will  still  increase  ;  and,  with,  the 
Blessing  of  Heaven,  in  a  few  Years  be  the  most  flour- 
ishing of  all  America  ;  not  only  because  the  King  has 
much  at  heart  the  Improvement  of  this  new  Country,  but 
because  People  come  thither  from  all  parts.  His  Majesty 
has  lately  sent  thither  74  pieces  of  heavy  Cannon,  with 
Powder,  Ball,  &c.  and  Governor  Johnsoni^  setting  out 
from  Charles-town  to  mark  out  the  Land,  whereon  to  build 
two  good  Forts,  one  at  Port-royal,  and  the  other  upon  the 
River  Alatamaha,  betwixt  which  is  the  River  Savanna. 
The  People  of  the  Palatinate,  those  of  New-York,  New- 
England,  and  other  parts,  sell  all  that  they  have  to  come 
to  Carolina;  which  has  raised  the  Price  of  Lands  within 
50  miles  about  Charles-town  to  four  times  the  Value  in  4 
or  5  Years  time :  It  will  probably  be  the  same  about  Pur- 
ryshurg.  However,  it  is  a  certain  Truth,  that  the  same 
Quantity  of  Land  at  Charles-town  which  might  be  bought 
for  a  Crown  about  40  Years  ago,  cannot  at  this  time  be 
bought  for  200/.  Sterling,  nor  even  for  300/.  in  those 
places  which  are  well  situated  for  Trade. 

The  good  Dispositions  which  are  making  daily  for  a 
regular  Administration  of  Justice,  cannot  fail  of  bringing 
the  Country  into  Reputation,  and  drawing  thither  still 
great  numbers  of  People.  Artificers  are  so  scarce  at 
present,  that  all  sorts  of  Work  is  very  dear ;  Taylors, 
Shoemakers,  Smiths,  &c.  would  be  particularly  accept- 
able there.  A  skilful  Carpenter  is  not  ashamed  to  de- 
mand 3  0^.  j;er  Day  beside  his  Diet;  and  the  conunon 
Wages  of  a  Workman  is  205.  per  Day,  provided  he 
speaks  English,  without  which  he  cannot  be  understood, 
and  consequently  not  so  useful  as  others ;  and  when  a 
Workman  has  but  10^.  per  Day  he  thinks  he  labours  for 
almost  nothing,  though  he  has  his  Maintenance  besides. 
But  this  is  Carolina  Money. 


PROVINCE  OF  SOUTH  CA.ROLINA.  131 

Most  of  their  Shoes  are  brought  from  England,  and 
generally  sell  for  405.  'per  pair.  Not  but  that  they  have 
Hides  enough,  and  very  cheap,  an  Ox's  Hide  being  sold 
for  305.  neither  are  they  destitute  of  the  Means  to  Tan 
them :  for  they  make  very  good  Lime  with  Oyster-shells, 
and  the  Bark  of  Oak-trees  is  so  plentiful,  that  it  costs 
nothing  but  the  trouble  of  gathering :  They  want  there- 
fore only  a  sufficient  Number  of  good  Tanners  and  Shoe- 
makers. 

I  might  say  the  same  of  Leather  dressers,  since  they 
send  every  Year  to  England  above  200,000  Deer-skins 
undrest.  Yet  Carolina  produces  Oker  naturally,  and 
good  Fish-oyl  may  be  had  from  New-York  or  New-Eng- 
land very  cheap :  So  that  they  might  be  drest  and  made 
up  into  Breeches  in  the  Country,  for  which  those  Skins 
are  very  proper,  being  warm  in  Winter  and  cool  in  Sum- 
mer. 

There  is  not  one  Potter  in  all  the  Province,  and  no 
Earthen-ware  but  what  comes  from  England,  nor  Glass 
of  any  Kind:  So  that  a  Pot-house  and  a  good  Glass- 
house would  succeed  perfectly  well,  not  only  for  Caro- 
lina, but  for  all  the  other  Colonies  in  America.  There 
is  a  kind  of  Sand  a,nd  Earth  which  would  be  very  proper 
for  these  Purposes,  as  also  Wood  and  Fern  in  abundance, 
had  they  but  Workmen  to  make  use  of  them. 

The  Woods  are  full  of  wild  Vmes,  bearing  5  or  6  Sorts 
of  Grapes  naturally ;  but  for  want  of  Vine-dressers,  &c. 
scarce  any  Wine  is  drank  there  but  what  comes  from 
Madera,  which  are  indeed  cheap,  for  a  Bottle  of  excel- 
lent Wine  cost  last  Winter  but  2s.  Carolina  Money  to 
those  who  bought  by  the  Hogshead.  There  is  something 
so  singular  in  these  V/ines  of  Madera  that  we  cannot 
forbear  mentioning  it ;  which  is.  That  Heat  preserves 
them,  and  Cold  spoils  them:  For  as  in  Europe  they  are 


123  A  DESCRIPTION  OP  THE 

obliged  to  put  their  Wine  in  cool  Cellars ;  these,  on  the 
contrary,  must  be  put  into  the  warmest  Places.  If  they 
begm  to  be  sour,  they  are  exposed  to  the  greatest  Heats 
of  the  Sun  to  be  recovered :  So  that  to  keep  them  good, 
you  are  to  do  what  you  would  in  other  Parts  to  make 
Vinegar.  This  seems  to  be  the  greatest  Paradox  in  the 
World,  but  nothing  is  more  certain :  and  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  Col.  BleeJc  caused  a  Vault  to  be  made  over 
his  Oven,  purposely  to  keep  his  Wine  in  all  the  Year. 

The  Cattle  of  Carolina  are  very  fat  in  Summer,  but  as 
lean  in  Winter,  because  they  can  find  very  little  to  eat, 
and  have  no  cover  to  shelter  them  from  the  cold  Rains, 
Frosts,  and  Snows,  which  last  sometimes  3  or  4  Days; 
Only  the  Cattle  design'd  for  the  Butchery  are  fed,  and  they 
bad  enough,  with  Potatoes,  Straw,  and  Grain ;  but  they 
always  he  in  the  open  Field,  for  there  is  not  one  Hovel 
in  all  the  Country,  either  for  Oxen  or  Cows.  If  you 
object  this  to  the  Planters,  they  answer  that  such  Houses 
or  Hovels  would  do  very  well,  but  that  they  have  too 
many  other  Affairs  to  think  of  that.  The  last  Winter 
being  very  severe,  about  10,000  horned  Cattle  died  of 
Hunger  and  Cold.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  People 
will  not  change  their  Conduct,  because  they  do  not  un- 
derstand the  manner  of  ordering  Cattle,  nor  even  know 
how  to  mow  the  Grass,  in  order  to  make  it  into  Hay,  of 
which  they  might  have  great  Plenty  for  Fodder.  Their 
Ignorance  in  this  respect  is  very  great,  which  is  the  rea- 
son that  Butter  is  always  dear,  being  sold  last  Winter  at 
7s.  6d  per  Pound,  and  in  Jan.  and  Feb.  last  it  was  sold 
at  Charles-town  for  12s.  "per  Pound:  In  a  word,  nothing 
would  be  more  easy  than  for  Persons  who  understand 
Country  Affairs  to  grow  rich  in  a  little  time.  There  is 
so  great  a  Number  of  Cattle,  that  a  certain  Planter  had 
last  Spring  200  Calves  marked,  which  he  let  run  in  the 


PROVINCE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  133 

Woods  with  other  Cattle :  No-body  looks  after  them,  or 
takes  any  other  Care,  but  to  bring  them  together  in  the 
Evening  to  he  in  a  Park  near  the  House. 

At  certain  Times  they  kill  a  great  many  to  send  the 
Flesh  salted  to  several  other  Colonies,  where  there  is 
little  Pasturage,  particularly  to  the  Isles  of  Antilles,  and 
in  general  to  all  those  of  the  Torrid  Zone. 

Horses,  the  best  Kind  in  the  World,  are  so  plentiful, 
that  you  seldom  see  any  body  travel  on  foot,  except 
Negroes,  and  they  often  on  horseback ;  so  that  when  a 
Taylor,  a  Shoemaker,  or  any  other  Tradesman,  is  oblig- 
ed to  go  but  3  Miles  from  his  House,  it  would  be  very 
extraordinary  to  see  him  travel  on  foot. 

There  is  likewise  in  this  Country  a  prodigious  Num- 
ber of  Swine,  which  multiply  infinitely,  and  are  kept 
with  very  little  Charge,  because  they  find  almost  all  the 
Year  Acorns,  of  which  there  is  5  or  6  Sorts,  as  also  Nuts, 
Walnuts,  Chesnuts,  Herbs,  Roots,  &c.  in  the  Woods ; 
So  that  if  you  give  them  never  so  little  at  home  they 
become  fat;  after  which  you  may  salt  and  send  great 
Quantities  of  them  to  the  Isles  of  Barhadoes,  St  Chris- 
tophers, Jamaica,  <SpC.  which  produce  very  good  Re- 
turns either  in  Money  or  Merchandizes. 

Of  all  Animals  m  that  Country,  none  are  a  less  Charge 
than  Sheep,  for  they  subsist  only  on  what  they  find  in  the 
Fields;  yet  are  always  in  good  Case,  and  bring  forth 
their  Lambs  regularly ;  and  there  is  a  particular  Sort, 
whose  Wool  is  not  inferior  to  the  finest  Spanish  Wool. 

Flax  and  Cotton  thrive  admirably,  and  Hemp  grows 
from  13  to  14  Foot  in  Height,  but  as  few  People  know 
how  to  order  it,  there  is  scarce  any  cultivated;  besides, 
they  want  Dung,  which  is  very  necessary  for  that  pur- 
pose, few  Plants  weakening  Land  so  much  as  Hemp 
does :  However,  this  is  one  of  the  Articles  which  would 


134  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE 

produce  most  Profit,  because  the  Parliament  has  allow- 
ed so  much  per  Ton  upon  all  Hemp  which  comes  from 
the  English  Plantations  in  America,  in  order  that  in  Time 
of  War  they  may  have  no  need  of  Hemp  from  Russia 
and  Poland;  besides  this  Encouragement,  which  is  to 
last  for  30  Years  longer,  there  is  an  Exemption  from 
some  other  Duties  on  Importation ;  which,  joined  toge- 
ther, makes  an  advantage  of  about  40j?er  Cent,  over  that 
of  Hemp  from  other  parts. 

Rice  and  Indian  Corn  produce  at  least  an  hundred- 
fold, and  would  do  much  more,  if  the  Land  were  better 
cultivated.  The  Easiness  of  procuring  such  a  Plenty  of 
Grain,  is  the  Reason  that  the  Planters  have  or  may  have 
at  all  Times  a  Court-yard  fill'd  with  Cocks,  Hens,  Tur- 
keys, Geese,  Ducks,  cf^.  also  a  good  Pigeon-house, 
without  being  at  any  Expence.  There  is  great  Plenty 
of  Game  of  all  Sorts,  but  especially  wild  Turkeys,  some 
of  which  are  30  Pound  Weight,  and  those  who  love 
Fowling  may  easily  take  them.  With  this  Indian  Corn 
they  make  pretty  good  Bread,  for  it  is  much  finer  and 
better  than  in  Srvisserland,  or  in  any  other  part  of  Eu- 
rope, where  it  is  commonly  call'd  Turkey  Corn. 

Persons  may  grow  rich  in  Carolina  without  being  at 
much  Expence  or  Labour,  by  planting  white  Mulberry 
Trees  for  feeding  of  Silk-worms,  there  being  perhaps  no 
Country  in  the  World  where  those  Trees  grow  better, 
nor  where  the  Silk  is  finer  than  in  Carolina.  They 
grow  so  mnch  in  so  short  a  Time,  that  we  dare  scarce 
mention  it:  Capt.  Scott  has  one  at  the  back  of  his  House 
at  Port-Royal,  not  above  7  or  8  Years  old,  the  Body 
whereof  is  above  5  foot  round.  It  would  be  difiicult  to 
believe  this,  if  it  was  not  confirmed  by  other  Mulberry 
Trees  of  4  or  5  Years  old,  at  Port-Royal,  Westmesaa, 
Gooscreek,  and  other  Plantations,  the  Trunks  whereof 


PROVINCE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  135 

are  near  a  foot  in  Diameter.  But  as  all  the  Planters 
apply  themselves  chiefly  to  the  production  of  Rice,  Pitch, 
and  Tar,  there  is  very  little  Use  made  of  them.  How- 
ever, those  who  have  been  in  Provence  and  Languedoc 
know,  that  the  Strippings  of  a  Mulberry  Tree,  that  is, 
the  Leaves  of  a  Summer,  are  commonly  sold  for  a  Crown, 
and  sometimes  two,  although  the  Silk  of  those  two  Pro- 
vinces is  but  very  indiflerent ;  from  whence  it  may  be 
easily  conjectur'd,  what  Riches  Carolina  would  produce 
if  this  affair  was  well  managed.  All  other  Trees  grow  there 
in  the  same  proportion,  and  much  faster  than  in  Europe, 
but  particularly  the  Peach  Tree ;  for  the  3d  Year  it  is 
commonly  loaded  with  Fruit,  and  is  a  great  Tree  the 
4th  Year. 

Some  perhaps  will  object,  that  this  Country  is  fever- 
ish and  unhealthy,  and  all  the  Advantages  which  might 
be  found  in  other  Respects,  would  not  make  Amends  for 
the  loss  of  Health :  Besides,  that  you  are  plagued  there 
with  several  sorts  of  Insects,  and  especially  with  great 
Rattle-Snakes ;  so  that  you  are  in  Danger  of  your  Life 
every  Moment. 

To  this  we  answer,  that  if  People  are  sick  there,  't  is 
generally  an  Effect  of  their  bad  Conduct,  and  not  know- 
ing how  to  regulate  themselves  suitably  to  the  Country 
where  they  live  ;  for  't  is  very  certain,  that  those  who 
observe  Precautions  have  as  good  Health  there  as  they 
would  in  other  places.  But  the  better  to  understand 
this  Affair ;  you  must  know  that  the  uncultivated  Lands 
of  Carolina,  as  well  as  the  other  adjacent  Provinces, 
which  extend  much  further  than  Canada,  being  wholly 
covered  with  large  Pine  Trees,  very  cold  in  their  Na- 
ture, and  when  the  Vapours  which  they  have  attracted 
and  retained  come  to  be  dispers'd  by  a  Northerly  Wind, 
you  feel  a  Cold  almost  as  sharp  as  in  Europe;  so  that 


136  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE 

in  one  Day  you  may  find  a  considerable  change  of  Air : 
This  then,  together  with  the  Debauches  made  by  Punch, 
strong  Madera  Wines,  and  the  eating  unripe  Fruits,  is 
the  real  source  of  the  Sicknesses  there ;  for  sensual 
Persons,  who  have  not  the  power  to  deny  themselves 
any  thing,  when  they  find  that  a  hot  Day  is  succeeded 
by  a  great  Coolness  towards  Evening,  expose  them- 
selves to  it  with  great  pleasmre,  without  troubhng  them- 
selves with  the  Consequence;  and  when  this  pleasure 
is  succeeded  by  Rheumatisms,  Feavers,  or  other  Distem- 
pers, they  never  fail  of  pouring  out  Curses  on  the  Coun- 
try, rather  than  own  their  Carelessness  or  Excess.  And 
'tis  very  common  for  those  newly  arrived,  to  say,  when 
they  have  got  an  illness,  That  H  is  a  Tribute  they  must 
'pay  to  the  Climate.  But  such  as  take  care  to  keep  their 
Breasts  always  warm,  to  shun  the  great  Transpirations 
of  the  Air,  to  cover  themselves  well  in  the  Night,  espe- 
cially in  Summer,  and  in  other  Respects  live  regularly, 
will  certainly  enjoy  as  good  Health  there  as  in  any  other 
part  of  the  World. 

There  are  few  Insects  in  Carolina  that  can  reasona- 
bly be  complain'd  of,  except  a  sort  of  Gnats,  which  they 
call  Muscatoes  ;  and  there  is  scarce  any  of  these  except 
in  low  Grounds,  or  near  the  Rivers ;  but  if  a  House  is 
troubled  with  them,  it  is  easily  remedied,  by  opening 
the  Windows  about  Sun-setting,  and  shutting  them  again 
a  little  before  the  close  of  the  Twilight,  the  Muscatoes 
never  failing  to  quit  the  House  about  that  time :  and  for 
better  Security,  they  make  fine  Gause-work  about  their 
Beds,  which  keeps  them  off. 

There  are  People  in  Europe,  especially  in  England, 
that  tremble  only  at  the  name  of  a  Rattle-Snake,  imag- 
ining, that  the  Country  of  Cai'olina  is  so  full  of  them^ 
that  tliere  is  no  going  into  the  Woods  without  Danger  of 


PROVINCE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  137 

Life :  But  this  is  an  Error  as  ill-grounded  as  the  most 
part  of  the  other  Reports  spread  abroad  to  the  disadvan- 
tage of  this  New  World.  At  least,  't  is  certain,  that  this 
Serpent  is  very  seldom  seen,  and  if  they  are  met,  do  very 
little  Hurt,  except  they  are  provoked  to  defend  them- 
selves :  Besides,  they  never  fail  of  giving  you  Notice  of 
their  Approach  by  their  Ralttles,  v^hich  may  be  heard  at 
a  considerable  Distance.  'T  is  also  said,  that  the  Venom 
of  this  Serpent  is  mortal,  and  kills  in  a  very  short  time, 
if  not  prevented  by  some  Antidotes  :  But  those  Reme- 
dies are  well  known  by  every  body  in  the  Country. 
When  Mr.  Furry  went  with  his  small  Company  to  chuse 
out  a  Spot  of  Land  on  the  River  Savanna,  the  People 
told  them  before  their  Departure  from  Charles  Torvn, 
that  they  had  great  Reason  to  fear  these  Rattle-Snakes, 
the  Country  being  full  of  them;  and  that  they  ought  to 
keep  a  good  Guard  against  them;  however  they  did  not 
so  much  as  see  one  of  those  Serpents,  nor  of  any  other 
sort  for  15  Days  that  they  travelled  about  in  the  Woods, 
though  it  was  in  the  Middle  of  Summer  at  a  time  when 
all  Serpents  are  out  of  their  Holes.  It  is  very  seldom 
that  any  Person  is  bitten  by  these  Snakes,  or  by  those 
of  other  Kinds,  which  are  much  more  common,  that  it 
would  be  very  difficult  to  find  so  much  as  one  Person 
in  all  Carolina  that  has  ever  had  this  Misfortune.  There 
are  also  some  Crocodiles  in  the  Rivers,  but  the  People 
fear  them  no  more,  than  if  they  were  so  many  Fishes, 
since  it  was  never  known  that  they  have  hurt  any  Per- 
son whatsoever. 

Those  that  may  have  any  Desire  to  go  and  settle 
there  may  further  take  notice  of  3  or  4  Observations : 

1st,  That  South  Carolina  is  not  only  situated  in  the 
same  Degree  of  Heat,  Fertility,  and  Temperature  of 
Air,  which  is  about  33  Degrees  Latitude,  as  Barhary, 

18 


138  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE 

the  Isle  of  Candia,  Sijria,  Persia,  Mogolistan,  China,  and 
in  general  all  the  best  Countries  in  the  Universe  ;  but  it 
is  also  the  only  Country  of  all  those  the  English  possess 
that  is  situated  in  that  Degree ;  and  there  is  all  the  Rea- 
son in  the  World  to  believe,  that  if  there  be  now  an 
Opportunity  to  have  Lands  there  for  nothing,  this  Advan- 
tage will  not  continue  long.  At  least 't  is  very  certain  that 
those  who  shall  come  first,  will  have  the  Choice  of 
Land,  as  also  the  Proximity  of  Rivers,  much  better  than 
those  that  shall  come  afterwards. 

2dly,  That  by  means  of  the  Wool,  Cotton,  Flax  and 
Hemp,  it  will  be  easy  to  procure  all  Linnen  necessary, 
as  also  good  Cloth  and  Stuffs  for  Cloathing,  without 
being  forced  to  purchase  them  at  a  very  dear  rate  from 
the  Shops,  as  m^ost  of  the  Planters  are  at  present.  And 
what  is  still  an  Article  very  considerable,  there  will  be 
no  Danger  of  wanting  Provisions  in  a  Country  so  plen- 
tiful, unless  some  Accidents  happen,  which  cannot  be 
foreseen  by  human  Prudence  ;  we  may  be  assured  that 
Hail- stones  will  not  deprive  the  Inhabitants  thereof 

3(i/y,  That  Carolina  being  of  all  the  Neighbouring 
Provinces  which  the  English  possess  on  the  Continent  of 
North  America,  from  29  to  49  Degrees  of  Latitude,  is 
not  only  the  largest  and  most  productive  of  Necessa- 
ries, but  also  the  most  Southward,  and  nearest  to  Ja- 
maica, Barhadoes,  and  all  the  Islands  of  the  Antilles, 
which  have  Occasion  for  salted  Provisions,  Bread, 
Wine,  Fruits,  Roots,  and  several  other  Things,  we  need 
not  hesitate  a  Moment  to  prefer  it  to  all  the  other  Colonies 
on  the  North  side.  And  besides  the  great  Advantages 
which  may  accrue  to  the  Inhabitants  by  the  Fertility 
of  the  Land,  and  the  Temperateness  of  the  Climate,  the 
Situation  thereof  for  Trade  will  always  draw  Ships  into 
its  Ports,  which  there  finding  at  a  reasonable  price  and 


PROVINCE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  139 

in  g-Qod  Order,  all  that  the  other  most  distant  Provinces 
can  have,  will  hardly  go  so  far,  whilst  any  thing  is  to  be 
had  in  Carolina. 

Uhly  and  Lastlij,  And  what  is  of  the  greatest  Impor- 
tance of  all  is,  that  there  is  an  entire  Liberty  of  Con- 
science and  Commerce  for  all  that  come  thither,  without 
paying  any  thing  for  it ;  Justice  is  duly  administrated  to 
all ;  and  every  body  can  say  that  what  he  possesses  lawful- 
ly belongs  to  him  in  full  Propriety.  There  are  no  Tenths, 
Imposts,  Tallies,  nor  Capitation  Taxes,  nor  any  of  those 
Burdens  which  render  so  many  other  People  unhappy : 
In  a  word,  you  have  all  the  Laws,  Liberties,  and  Privi- 
leges there  which  are  enjoyed  in  England:  'T  is  the 
Lower  House  that  has  the  Disposal  of  the  Money  of  the 
Province,  and  who  vote  the  Taxes  necessary  for  the 
publick  Service,  however  with  the  Approbation  of  the 
Upper  House,  and  that  of  His  Majesty,  represented  by 
the  Governor;  and  when  one  of  the  two  Houses  would 
have  an  Act  passed,  on  any  Subject  whatsoever,  after 
having  examined  and  debated  all  the  Clauses  thereof,  it 
is  ingrossed  and  sent  to  the  other  House  for  their  Con- 
currence. But  this  Act,  or  rather  projected  Act,  has  at 
that  time  only  the  Name  of  a  Bill,  that  is  to  say,  pro- 
perly, an  Act  proposed.  Now  if  this  Bill  is  passed  by 
the  other  House,  it  is  carried  to  the  Governor,  who  may 
either  approve  or  reject  it;  and  'tis  not  till  the  Moment 
the  Governor  gives  his  Consent  thereto,  that  it  takes 
the  Form  of  a  Law,  and  has  all  the  Force  thereof;  for 
if  either  of  the  Houses  or  Governor  rejects  the  said  Bill, 
it  drops  of  course.  Therefore  nothing  better  proves, 
that  the  Constitution  of  the  Government  of  Carolina,  as 
well  as  that  of  England,  is  founded  on  the  Union  be- 
tween the  King  and  the  People,  since  they  make  only 
one  and  the  same  Body,  of  v/hich  his  Majesty  is  always 


140  A  DESCRIPTION,  ETC. 

the  Head;  from  whence  it  may  be  concluded  and  boldly 
affirmed,  that  the  English  are  the  most  free  and  happy 
People"  at  this  Time  in  the  whole  World. 

We  whose  Names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  do  Attest, 
that  all  which  is  contain'd  in  this  Account  of  South 
Carolina,  is  the  real  Truth,  having  been  Eye- Wit- 
nesses of  the  most  part  of  the  Particulars  therein 
mentioned.  Done  at  Charles-Town,  the  23d  of 
September,  1731. 

JOHN  PETER  PURRY,   of  Neufchatel 
JAMES  RICHARD,  of  Geneva. 
ABRAHAM  MEURON,  of  St.  Sulpy,  in 

the  County  oi  Neufchatel, 
HENRY  RAYMOND,  of  St.  Sulpy. 


NARRATIVE 


OF    THE 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF    THE 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 

IN  THE  YEAR  1719: 

AND    OF 

THE  TRUE  CAUSES  AND  MOTIVES  THAT  INDUCED  THEM  TO  RENOUNCE  THEIR 

OREDIENCE  TO  THE  LORDS  PROPRIETORS,  AS  THEIR  GOVERNORS, 

AND   TO    PUT    THEMSELVES    UNDER    THE    IMMEDIATE 

GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  CROWN. 


LONDON: 

PRINTED    IN    THE    TEAR    M.DCC.XXVI. 


TO  THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE 

JOHN     LORD     CARTERET, 

LORD  LIEUTENANT  OF  IRELAND. 


My  Lord, 
The  People  of  South- Carolina  are  now  forced,  (by  the  Lords  Propri- 
etors Application  to  His  Majesty  for  a  Restitution  of  their  Government) 
by  me,  to  set  forth  the  true  Cause  of  their  Pi-oceedings  in  the  Year  1719, 
to  put  themselves  under  the  Protection  and  Government  of  the  Crown ; 
for  which  they  do  not  plead  Law,  but  Necessity.  The  World,  from  the 
Knowledge  they  have  of  your  Lordship's  Humanity,  Honour,  and  Good- 
Nature,  will  be  indue' d  to  conclude,  You  will  not  insist  upon  what  may 
be  strictly  Your  Right,  where  the  Lives  and  Estates  of  upwards  of 
Seventeen  Hundred  Families  may  be  endanger' d  thereby. 

I  presume  also  to  say.  It  is  equally  the  Lords  Proprietors  as  the 
Peoples  Interest,  that  Province  should  be  govern'd  by  the  Crown,  who 
only  can  protect  that  Frontier  Colony  :  For  if  the  Inhabitants  are  ruined 
and  drove  off  the  Country,  their  Lordships  must,  in  some  sort,  be  Suffer- 
ers with  them  ;  not  to  mention  the  Expence  it  saves  them,  of  a  Salary  to 
a  Governor  and  other  Officers  of  the  Government.  Andtho'  I  would  be 
thought  far  from  prescribing  Rules  to  their  Lordships,  I  dare  venture  to 
say,  that  under  proper  Regulations,  Their  Estates  may  be  better  Aug- 
mented and  Receiv'd  under  His  Majesty's  Government,  than  under  their 
own,  and  it  would  be  a  Reciprocal  Advantage,  as  well  to  the  Province  as 
Themselves. 

I  have  been  forced,  in  the  following  Narration,  to  lay  some  Misma- 
nagements to  the  Lord  Proprietors  Charge,  which  I  do  truly  believe,  if 
your  Lordship  had  not  been  then  on  your  Embassy  in  Sweden,  I  should 
not  have  had  occasion  to  mention,  for  they  would  not  have  been :  But  as 
Truth,  and  the  necessary  Apology  of  the  People  who  employ  me,  have 
constrained  me  to  it,  without  the  least  Intention  of  blemishing  any  One's 
Character;  so  I  hope  for  their  Pardon,  and  more  particularly  for  that  of 
your  Lordship,  from  whom  I  have  received  so  many  Favours  :  And  I 
beg  leave  to  assure  your  Lordship,  that  I  am,  with  the  greatest  Respect 
and  Deference, 

My  Lord, 

Your  Lordship's 
Most  Obedient,  and 
Most  Humble  Servant, 

F.  YONGE. 


A    NARRATIVE 


OF     THE 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF    THE 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 

IN   THE  YEAR  1719. 


The  Lords  Proprietors  of  Carolina  being  at  this  Time 
soliciting  His  Majesty  for  the  Restitution  of  their  Go- 
vernment of  South-Carolina,  from  whose  Authority  the 
Inhabitants  revolted  in  the  Year  1719,  and  humbly 
besought  His  Majesty  to  take  them  under  his  own  im- 
mediate Government  and  Protection ;  I  could  not  help 
thinking  this  a  proper  Juncture  to  acquaint  the  World 
how  those  People  came  to  take  such  extraordinary 
Measures,  as  those  they  did,  has  the  appearance  of, 
to  them  who  are  not  acquainted  with  the  Springs  and 
Motives  which  agitated  and  push'd  them  on  to  such  vio- 
lent proceedings. 

And  being  fumish'd  with  proper  Materials,  the  Origi- 
nal Papers,  and  an  Eye- Witness  to  most  that  then  pass'd 
in  that  Province,  I  can  answer  for  the  Truth  of  the 
Facts  hereafter  related;  and  as  the  continuance  of  the 
Government  of  that  Provuice  under  the  Crown  is  of  the 


144  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE 

greatest  consequence;  not  only  to  the  Province  itself, 
but  to  all  the  Settlements  in  North- America,  to  which  it 
is  a  Frontier;  I  hope  it  will  not  be  thought  an  imperti- 
nent Work  to  acquaint  the  pubhck  with  an  Affair,  which 
altho'  so  remote,  is  of  so  great  Importance. 

But  before  I  proceed  to  particulars,  it  will  be  ne- 
cessary to  give  the  Reader  a  short  View  of  the  Nature 
of  the  Settlement  and  Government  of  that  Province,  and 
of  the  Accidents  and  Contingencies  that  first  gave  the 
People  a  dislike  to  the  Lords  Proprietors;  and  which, 
by  degrees,  so  far  hritated  them,  that  they  at  last  re- 
solv'd  to  be  no  longer  subject  to  their  Government. 

This  Province  was  first  settled  at  the  Charge  and 
Expence  of  several  Persons  of  Quality,  to  whom  King 
Charles  II.  granted  it  by  Charter  soon  after  his  Restora- 
tion ;  and  a  Scheme  was  then  by  them  drawn,  for  the 
forming  and  settling  the  Legislature,  and  for  encouraging 
Settlers  to  go  over:  It  will  be  sufficient  only  to  mention 
here,  that  by  their  Charter,  they  had  power  given  them, 
to  call  an  Assembly  of  the  Freemen  of  the  Province,  or 
their  Delegates,  and  with  them,  either  hy  themselves  or 
their  larvful  Deputies,  to  enact  and  make  Laws,  not  repug- 
nant to  the  Larvs  o/"England  ;  and  it  had  been  usual  with 
them  to  appoint  a  Governor  and  seven  Deputies,  called  the 
Council,  the  first  of  which  (the  Governor)  represented 
the  Palatine,  and  the  others  the  rest  of  the  Lords  Pro- 
prietors, respectively,  and  were  called  the  Upper  House 
of  Assembly :  Thus  the  Laws  were  pass'd,  and  the 
Country  govern'd  for  upwards  of  Fifty  years ;  when, 
after  some  Years  Intercourse  and  Dealing  between  the 
Inhabitants  and  several  Nations  of  the  Ltdians,  with 
whom  they  traded,  as  they  now  do,  for  several  Thou- 
sand Pounds  a  Year,  the  said  hidians,  unanimously 
agreed  to  destroy  the  whole  Settlement,  by  murdering 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA..  145 

and  cutting  to  pieces  all  the  Inhabitants,  on  a  Day  they 
had  agreed  on ;  and  altho'  some  private  Intimations 
were  given  the  People  of  their  Design,  it  was  totally  dis- 
believ'd ;  so  that  on  that  certain  Day,  in  the  Year  1715, 
they  killed  all,  or  most  of  the  Traders  that  were  with 
them  in  their  Towns ;  and  going  among  the  Plantations, 
murdered  all  who  could  not  fly  from  their  Cruelty,  and 
burned  their  Houses.  The  occasion  of  this  Conspiracy, 
which  was  so  universal,  that  all  the  Indians  were  con- 
cerned in  it,  except  a  small  Clan  or  two  that  lived 
amongst  the  Settlements,  insomuch,  that  they  amounted 
to  between  Eight  and  Ten  Thousand  Men,  was  attribut- 
ed to  some  ill  Usage  they  had  receiv'd  from  the  Traders, 
who  are  not  (generally)  Men  of  the  best  Morals ; 
and  that  no  doubt  of  it,  might  give  some  cause  to 
their  Discontents ;  to  which  may  be  added  the  great 
Debts  they  owed  the  Inhabitants,  which  it  is  said 
amounted  to  near  10,000/.  Sterling,  with  the  Goods  then 
amongst  them ;  all  which  they  seiz'd  and  made  their 
own,  and  never  paid  their  Debts,  but  cancell'd  them,  by 
murdering  their  Creditors. 

In  this  War  near  400  of  the  Inhabitants  were  destroy'd, 
with  many  Houses  and  Slaves,  and  great  Numbers  of 
Cattle,  especially  to  the  Southward  near  Port-Royal, 
from  whence  the  Inhabitants  were  entirely  drove,  and 
forced  into  the  Settlements  near  Charles-Town. 

This  Town  being  fortified,  they  there  had  time  to 
think  what  to  do  ;  and  not  mustering  above  1200  Men, 
they  sent  to  Virginia  and  the  neighbouring  Colonies  for 
Assistance  ;  and  for  want  of  Money,  of  which  they  have 
very  little  in  the  Country,  they  formed  Bills  of  Credit  to 
pass  current  in  all  Payments,  of  which  we  shall  have 
Occasion  to  speak  hereafter.  This  their  necessary  De- 
fence brought  the  Publick  in  Debt  near   80,000/.  and 

19 


146  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

intail'd  great  Annual  Charges  upon  them,  to  maintain 
Garrisons,  which  they  were  forced  to  erect  and  keep  at 
great  Expences. 

In  this  very  great  Extremity,  they  sent  Agents  to 
Eiigland  with  an  Account  of  their  deplorable  State,  and 
to  beg  Assistance  from  their  Proprietors  :  But  not  having 
very  great  Expectations  from  them,  as  very  rightly 
imagining  they  would  not  be  brought  to  expend  their 
English  Estates,  to  support  much  more  precarious  ones 
in  America,  their  Agents  were  directed  to  lay  a  State  of 
their  Circumstances  before  her  then  Majesty,  Queen 
Anne,  and  to  beg  the  Assistance  of  the  Crown. 

Their  Agents  soon  sent  them  an  Account  that  they 
found  a  Disposition  in  Her  Majesty  to  send  them  Relief, 
and  to  protect  them ;  but  that  the  Objection  was  they 
were  a  Pr'oprietory  Government ;  and  it  was  the  Opinion 
of  the  then  Lords  Commissioners  of  Trade  and  Plan- 
tations, that  if  the  Queen  was  at  the  Expence  of 
protecting  and  relieving  the  Province,  the  Government 
thereof  should  be  in  the  Crown. 

This  first  contracted  in  the  Inhabitants  in  general,  an 
Opinion  of  their  being  very  unhappy  in  living  under  a 
Government  that  could  not  protect  them ;  the  effects  of 
which  were  also  worse,  since  it  hinder'd  the  Crown  from 
doing  what  they  (the  Proprietors)  could  not  do  them- 
selves. 

The  Publick  Emergencies  had  occasion'd  the  Stamp- 
ing the  Sum  of  80,000/.  in  Bills  of  Credit,  to  pay  their 
Soldiers,  and  other  Charges  the  Country  was  forced  to 
be  at ;  and  it  was  Enacted  by  the  Assembly,  They 
should  be  current  in  all  payments  between  Man  and 
Man.  But  the  precarious  State  the  Province  was  in 
by  the  Indian  War,  and  the  Danger  it  was  exposed  to, 
by  being  a  Frontier,  to  the  French  and  Spaniards.,  gave 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  147 

the  Merchants  in  England  who  Traded  thither,  and  to 
whom  the  Inhabitants  were  considerably  indebted,  so 
great  an  Alarm,  that  they  writ  to  their  Correspondents, 
to  make  them  Returns  at  any  Rate,  for  fear  of  losing  the 
Whole. 

The  great  Demand  for  the  Commodities  of  the  Coun- 
try that  this  necessarily  occasion'd,  together  with  the 
Scarcity  of  them  by  the  Peoples  being  taken  from  their 
Labour  to  defend  themselves,  and  there  being  no  other 
way  of  paying  their  Debts  to  the  Merchants  in  England 
but  by  the  Produce  of  the  Country,  the  Money  being 
Notional,  having  no  Intrinsick  Value  in  it ;  all  these 
things  concurr'd  to  raise  the  price  of  the  Rice,  Pitch  and 
Tar,  and  other  Productions  to  such  a  height  that  the 
Bill  that  was  made  for  Twenty  Shillings,  would  not 
purchase  what  was  worth  intrinsically  more  than  Haifa 
Crown.  From  whence  it  follow'd,  that  those  who  had 
Money  owing  them  on  Bond  or  otherwise  before  the 
War,  and  who  must  have  been  paid  in  Gold  or  Silver, 
or  its  Value,  if  those  Bills  had  not  been  made  current  in 
all  payments,  by  their  being  so,  lost  Seven-Eighths  of 
their  Money :  These  Losses  fell  chiefly  on  the  Mer- 
chants and  such  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Charles-Town  as 
were  Money'd  Men ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  the  Planters, 
who  were  their  Debtors  were  the  gainers. 

This  so  very  great  a  Loss  falling  upon  the  Merchants 
(tho'  I  do  truly  believe  it  was  not  foreseen  by  the 
People)  made  very  great  clamours  in  England,  from 
them  who  applied  to  the  Lords  Proprietors  for  Redress, 
and  desired  that  a  stop  might  be  put  to  the  increase  of 
that  sort  of  Currency,  and  that  some  Way  might  be 
found  for  the  calling  in,  and  sinking  what  was  then 
current  of  them.  In  this  condition  and  thus  circum- 
stanced, Mr.  Johnson  found  the  People  on  his  Arrival, 


148  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

who  was  appointed  Governor  by  the  Lords  Proprietors 
Commission  dated  30th  oi  April  1717;  and  agreeable 
to  an  Act  of  Parliament  in  that  case  provided,  he 
was  Approv'd  of  by  His  Majesty,  under  his  Sign 
Manual. 

At  his  first  coming  he  applied  himself  to  the  Assem- 
bly, to  call  m  those  Bills,  which  had  brought  so  great 
Inconveniencies  upon  themselves,  as  well  as  on  the 
Traders ;  and  in  Justice  and  Honom',  (he  told  them) 
they  ought  to  make  good ;  and  so  far  prevail'd  on  them, 
that  altho'  there  were  great  Contentions  in  the  Assem- 
bly, between  the  Planting  and  the  Mercantile  Interest ; 
altho'  the  Annual  Expences  of  the  Comitry  were  then 
very  great,  the  Indian  War  with  some  Nations  still  con- 
tinuing, the  Coast  very  much  infested  with  Pyrates, 
w^ho  had  several  times  block'd  up  the  Harbour  for  several 
Weeks  together,  and  taken  all  the  Ships  coming  m  or 
going  out,  which  had  put  the  Country  to  great  Expences, 
they  having  fitted  out  Vessels  twice,  and  taken  two  of 
them,  one  commanded  by  Major  Steed  Bonnet  in  Cape- 
Fear  River,  and  the  other  by  Worley  ofi"  the  Bar  of 
Charles-Torvn ;  in  which  last  expedition  Mr.  Johnson 
v/ent  himself  in  Person :  I  say,  notwithstanding  they 
then  labour'd  under  these  Difficulties,  they  pass'd  an 
Act  for  Sinking  and  Paying  off"  all  theu  Paper  Credit  in 
three  Years,  by  a  Tax  on  Lands  and  Negroes,  which 
give  a  general  Satisfaction. 

It  will  be  necessary  here  to  make  a  Digi-ession  to  in- 
form the  Reader,  that  at  the  first  Settling  the  Country, 
before  it  was  divided  into  Parishes,  the  whole  Lower 
House  of  Assembly  were  chosen  at  Charles-Town  and 
were  Representatives  of  the  whole  Province ;  which 
Custom  had  continued  after  the  Country  was  laid  out  in 
Parishes,  until  about  a  Year  before  Mr.  Johnson  arriv'd : 


-  PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  149 

"When  in  the  Government  of  Mr.  Daniel,  who  was  left 
Deputy  Governour  by  Mr.  Craven  when  he  came  for 
England,  they  pass'd  a  Law  for  Regulatmg  the  Elec- 
tions for  Members  of  the  Assembly  ;  wherein  amongst 
other  Things  it  was  Enacted  That  every  Parish  should 
send  a  certain  Number  of  Representatives  36  in  all, 
and  that  they  should  be  Balloted  for  at  their  Respective 
Parish  Churches,  or  some  other  Place  convenient,  on  a 
Day  to  be  mention'd  in  the  Writs,  which  were  to  be  di- 
rected to  the  Church- Wardens,  and  they  to  make  Return 
of  the  Elected  Members :  and  of  this  Act,  the  People 
were  very  fond ;  finding  it  gave  them  a  greater  Free- 
dom of  Election,  and  was  more  to  them  than  going 
out  of  their  respective  Countries  to  Charles  Town ;  at 
which  Elections  there  had  been  very  often  great  Tu- 
mults ;  and  besides,  that  it  came  nearer  the  Methods 
used  in  England. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  it  pleased  the  Generality  of 
the  People,  because  of  the  Freedom  it  gave  them  in 
their  Choice,  it  was  sure  to  displease  two  of  the  Lords 
Proprietors  Principal  Officers ;  then-  Chief  Justice  and 
Receiver  General  Mr.  Trott,  and  Mr.  Rhett  his  Brother 
in  Law ;  who  by  the  former  Method  of  Electing  at 
Charles  Town,  had  used  to  have  a  great  Sway  in  the 
Elections,  which  they  thought  would  be  lessen'd  by  this 
new  Method ;  and  therefore  they  did  what  they  could 
to  obstruct  the  passing  the  Bill,  which  they  failed  in ; 
but  so  represented  it  to  the  Lords  Proprietors  with  whom 
they  had  always  too  much  Interest,  either  for  their  Lord- 
ships or  the  Peoples  Good,  that  just  at  the  Juncture 
when  they  had  been  at  the  aforesaid  great  Expence  to 
drive  the  Pjnrates  off  their  Coast,  that  they  were  mightily 
pleased  with  Mr.  Johnson  for  exposing  his  own  Person 
m  that  expedition  agamst  them,  had  pass'd  the  Law  for 


150  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

sinking  their  Paper  Currency,  and  were  contriving  to 
pay  for  their  Expeditions  against  the  Pyrates,  and  their 
other  contingent  Debts,  and  they  were  never  observ'd  to 
be  in  so  good  a  Disposition  towards  the  Projmetors,  but 
were  doing  every  thing  that  could  be  ask'd  of  them.  At 
this  Juncture  arriv'd  an  Order  to  the  Governor  to  dis- 
solve the  Assembly  forthwith,  and  to  call  a  New  one  to 
be  Elected  according  to  the  Ancient  Custom,  they  not  ac- 
knowledging the  new  Election  Law,  because  notapprov'd 
and  ratified  by  them  in  London,  as  the  former  was,  and 
therefore  they  insisted,  the  Legislature  of  Carolina  could 
not  Repeal  it,  and  substitute  a  New  one  in  the  Place, 
without  their  Consent,  they  being  (notwithstanding  their 
Lnpowering  their  Deputies  in  Carolina)  the  Head  of  the 
Legislative  Body  of  the  Province,  and  had  a  Right  to  put 
a  Negative  on  such  Laws  as  they  did  not  approve  of;  at 
the  same  time  they  also  rejoeal'd  an  Act  of  the  Assembly 
for  laying  a  Duty  on  Negroes,  Liquors,  SfC.  import,ed  into 
the  said  Province,  for  raismg  a  Sum  of  Money  to  defray 
the  Contingent  Charges  of  the  Province  and  for  other 
Services  therein  mention'd. 

Mr.  Johnson  and  his  Council,  (that  is,  the  major  part 
of  them,  for  Mr.  Trott  was  of  that  Body)  were  very 
much  surpris'd  at  the  Receipt  of  these  Orders  ;  and  after 
having  duly  consider'd  the  Consequences  they  might 
produce,  resolv'd  to  suspend  the  Execution  of  them, 
especially  that  part  which  directed  the  Dissolution  of  the 
Assembly;  but  on  the  contrary,  thought  it  best  they 
should  sit  until  they  accomplish'd  the  Business  then  be- 
fore them.  But  as  the  Repeal  of  the  Duty-Law  was  by 
Order  of  the  King  in  Council,  because  of  a  part  of  it  that 
laid  a  Duty  on  Goods  manufactur'd  in  Great-Britain,  the 
Council  therefore  resolv'd  to  acquaint  the  Assembly  with 
the  King's  Dislike  to  that  part  of  the  Law,  and  require 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  151 

them  to  make  a  New  Act,  in  which  to  leave  out  the  part 
complain'd  of.  These  Orders  and  Repeals,  altho'  all 
Endeavours  were  used  that  they  should  be  kept  secret, 
came  to  the  Knowledge  of  the  Assembly,  and  begat  pro- 
digious Heats  and  Debates  about  the  Proprietors  Right 
of  Repeal,  or  of  their  Authority  to  allow  of  or  disallow 
any  of  the  Laws  pass'd  in  that  Province ;  which  the 
Assembly  alledg'd,  being  assented  by  their  Deputies 
who  acted  for  them ;  and  at  that  time,  by  a  sort  of  De- 
putation, every  P^^oprietor  gave  in  the  Nature  of  a  Power 
of  Attorney,  to  act  for  him,  and  in  his  stead ;  they 
insisted,  bound  them  according  to  the  Tenor  of  their 
Charter,  as  much  as  if  they  themselves  had  been  present, 
and  had  ratified  and  confirm'd  those  Acts. 

Just  before  the  arrival  of  these  unhappy  Orders,  there 
had  been  presented  to  the  Assembly,  Articles  of  Com- 
plaint against  the  Chief  Justice  Trott,  being  Thirty-one 
in  Number,  which  in  the  "Whole,  set  forth,  "  That  he 
had  been  guilty  of  many  Partial  Judgments ;  that  he 
had  contriv'd  many  Ways  to  multiply  and  increase  his 
Fees,  contrary  to  Acts  of  Assembly,  and  to  the  great 
Grievance  of  the  Subjects,  and  that  amongst  others,  he 
contriv'd  a  Fee  for  continuing  Causes  from  one  Court 
(or  Term)  anto  another,  and  then  he  put  off  the  Hear- 
ing forsev^eral  Years  together;  that  he  took  upon  him 
to  give  Advice  in  Causes  depending  in  his  Courts,  and 
did  not  only  act  as  a  Councellor  in  that  particular,  but 
also  had  and  did  draw  Deeds,  and  other  Writings  be- 
tween Party  and  Party,  some  of  which  had  been  con- 
tested before  him  as  Chief  Justice ;  in  the  determining 
of  which,  he  had  shewn  great  Partialities,  with  many 
other  Particulars;  and  lastly,  complaining  that  the 
whole  Judicial  Power  of  the  Province  was  lodff'd  in  his 
Hands  alone ;  of  which  it  was  evident  he  had  made  a  very 


152  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

ill  Use  ;  he  being  at  that  time  sole  Judge  of  the  Pleas 
and  King' s-Bench,  and  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Vice-Ad- 
miralty ;  so  that  no  Prohibition  could  be  lodg'd  against 
the  Proceedings  of  that  Court,  he  being  in  that  Case  to 
grant  a  Prohibition  against  himself :  he  was  also,  at  the 
same  time,  one  of  the  Council,  and  of  consequence,  of 
the  Court  of  Chancery T 

These  Complaints  took  their  Rise  from  the  Attomies 
who  practis'din  the  Courts,  and  were  fuUjmade  appear 
to  be  Facts  to  the  Commons  House  of  Assembly ;  bnt 
the  Judges  Commission  from  the  Fro'prietors  being  Quam 
diu  se  bene  gesserit,  and  he  insistuig  his  Actions  were 
not  to  be  tried  but  before  the  Proprietors  themselves, 
they  were  constraiued  to  apply  to  the  Proprietors  for 
Redress;  and  therefore  sent  a  Message  to  the  Govemor 
and  Council,  desiring  they  would  join  with  them  in  re- 
presenting his  Male-Administration  to  the  Lords,  and  in 
supplicating  them,  that  if  they  did  not  think  fit  to  re- 
move him  entirely  from  presiding  m  their  Comts  of 
Justice,  (which  they  desired,)  then  that  they  would  at 
least  leave  him  only  one  single  Jurisdiction,  that  they 
might  have  the  Liberty  of  Appealing  from  his  sole,  and 
too  often.  Partial  Judgment. 

The  Governor  and  a  Majority  of  his  Council  agreed 
with  them,  to  represent  the  Grievances  they  complain'd 
of,  to  the  Proprietors  ;  and  thinking  it  might  be  better 
done  by  one  of  their  own  Members,  who  had  been  pre- 
sent m  all  their  Debates,  than  by  Letters,  they  agreed 
on  Mr.  Yonge  to  go  to  Great-Britairi,  to  give  their  Lord- 
ships a  true  State  of  this,  as  well  as  of  their  other  Af- 
fairs, who  was  accordingly  properly  instructed,  and  in 
the  Month  of  May,  1719,  arrived  in  London. 

The  Lord  Carte  re  tt  the  Palatine  was  then  just 
going   on  his  Embassy  to  the   Court  of  Srveden,  who 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  153 

therefore  was  pleased  to  refer  him  to  the  rest  of  the  Pro- 
prietors; and  after  having-  waited  on  them  two  or  three 
times,  he  presented  them  with  the  following  Memorial 

To   the  Right  Honourable  the  Lords  Proprietors  of 
the  Province  of  South-Carolina. 

The  Memorial  of  Francis  Yonge  Esq;    Surveyor-Gene- 
rul  of  South- Carolina. 

"  The  dhoYesmdi  Francis  Yonge  being  appointed  by  your 
Lordships  Governor  and  Council  of  South^Carolina,  to 
lay  before  you,  not  only  several  Acts  of  Assembly,  maidie 
and  passed  there  the  last  Sessions  of  Assembly,  for  your 
Lordships  Approbation,  but  also  to  inform  your  Lord- 
ships of  the  Reasons  that  urged  them  to  defer  Dissolv- 
ing of  the  General  Assembly,  pursuant  to  your  Lord- 
ships Commands  ;  and  to  shew  your  Lordships  the  Ar- 
guments between  Them  and  the  Commons  House  of 
Assembly,  touching  your  Lordships  Right  of  Repealing 
Laws,  ratified  and  confirmed  there  by  your  Lordships 
Deputies ;  Does  therefore  present  your  Lordships  with 
a  Speech  'made  by  Mr.  Chief  Justice  Trott,  at  a  General 
Conference  of  both  Houses ;  and  the  Commons  Answer 
thereunto;  as  also  several  Messages  that  passed  be- 
tween them :  Which  he  hopes  will  shew  your  Lordships, 
that  no  Argum^ents  or  Endeavours  were  w^anting  on 
their  part,  to  assert  your  Lordships  Right  of  Repealing 
Laws  not  Ratified  by  you. 

"  They  (your  Lordships  said  Governor  and  Council) 
would  not  have  given  them  an  Opportunity  of  disputing 
(at  least  at  that  time)  such  your  Lordships  Power,  but 
should  have  Dissolv'd  them,  according  to  your  Lord- 
ships Commands,  had  it  been  possible  to  have  been  done 

20 


154  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE 

without  the  greatest  Prejudice  to  the  Country  in  general 
as  well  as  to  several  Merchants  and  particular  Persons, 
who  had  either  voluntarily  furnish'd,  or  had  pressed 
from  them  such  Things  as  were  necessary  for  fitting- 
out  the  two  Expeditions  against  the  Pyrates,  which 
amounted  to  upwards  of  10,000/.  and  which  that  Com- 
mons House  of  Assembly  had  provided  for  the  pay- 
ment of;  and  they  were  not  certain  another  would  agree 
to,  considering  the  ill  Humour  their  Dissolution  was 
likely  to  create  amongst  them :  Beside,  that  the  Imposi- 
tion Act  being  Repeal'd,  and  no  other  substituted  in  its 
Place,  leaving  out  the  Clause,  laying  a  Duty  upon  Goods 
of  the  Manufacture  of  Great-Britain ;  v/hich  Clause 
gave  Offence  ;  the  Duties  arising  by  which  Act  were 
applied  to  the  Payment  of  the  Clergy,  the  Maintenance 
of  the  Garisons,  paying  several  Publick  Debts,  and  on 
which  Orders  were  drawn  for  30,000/,  The  Indian 
Trading  Law  being  also  Repeal'd:  The  doing  of  which 
before  the  Trade  was  put  under  some  Regulation  might 
have  brought  those  People  down  on  our  Settlements, 
and  have  occasion'd  another  Indian  War.  The  Act  for 
sinking  35,000/.  the  current  Year,  in  Bills  of  Credit,  had 
been  broken  through :  which  it  v/as  absolutely  neces- 
sary some  other  Law  should  be  provided  to  make 
good. 

"  The  abovesaid  Reasons,  they  presume,  your  Lord- 
ships will  think  were  such,  that  they  could  not  then  im- 
mediately Dissolve  the  Assembly,  who  had  but  Six 
Weeks  to  Continue,  by  their  Biennial  Act :  And  it  is 
with  some  Pleasure  that  they  can  inform  your  Lordships, 
that  they  think  they  have  preserv'd  to  your  Lordships 
any  Right  you  were  before  possess'dof;  and  at  the  same 
time  have  got  such  Laws  pass'd,  as,  with  your  Lord- 
ships Approbation,  will  very  much  contribute  to  settle 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  155 

the   Country,   and,   we  hope,  give  no  Offence  to  Great- 
Britain. 

{a)  "  The  Governor  and  Council  have  frequently  re- 
commended to  Mr.  Secretary  Hart,  his  transmitting  to  your 
Lordships  copies  of  the  Laws  pass'd,  that  your  Lordships 
may  Approve,  or  signify  your  Dislike  of  them:  And  he 
has  as  often  complain'd  of  the  Difficulty  he  has  to  get 
them  Transcribed,  and  of  the  great  Charge  he  must  be  at 
so  to  do,  that  he  is  now  at  100/.  a  Year  Expence  for  a 
Clerk ;  and  more  than  that,  for  Books,  Pens,  Ink  and 
Paper,  cfc.  That  your  Lordships  Allowance  to  him  for 
the  Whole  is  but  40/.  a  Year.  They  therefore  take  the 
Liberty  of  Requesting  your  Lordships  to  Augment  the 
Salary  of  the  said  Secretary,  or  allow  a  Clerk  with  a 
competent  Salary  to  attend  the  Council,  and  transcribe 
such  Laws,  or  other  Things,  as  may  at  any  time  be 
thought  needful  to  send  to  your  Lordships,  or  done 
there.  They  have  also  formerly,  and  do  again  request 
your  Lordships,  That  the  Room  they  now  sit  in,  and 
have  done  for  four  Years  past,  and  which  belongs  to 
Mr.  William  Gibbon,  the  said  Mr.  Gibbon  may  have  some 
Allowance  for,  as  well  for  the  Time  past,  as  for  the  fu- 
ture ;  they  having  promis'd  him  to  move  your  Lordships 
in  his  Behalf  They  are  also  in  hopes  your  Lordships 
will  not  think  it  unreasonable  to  make  Themselves  some 
Allowance,  to  defray  the  Expence  they  are  at,  in  At- 
tending the  Council,  Court  of  Chancery,  and  Assembly, 
which  takes  up  more  than  one  third  part  of  their  Time, 
and  is  a  very  great  Charge  to  them.  And  whereas 
Fire,  Candles,  and  several  other  Contingent  Charges  will 
accrue,  they  desire  the  same  may  be  paid  by  your  Lord- 

(a)  They  had  sent  orders  to  have  all  the  Laws  constantly  sent  them 
by  their  Secretaries. 


156  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

ships  Receiver-General  when  he  shall  be  Order'd  so  to 
do  by  them. 

"  The  said  Francis  Yonge  is  further  directed  to  move 
your  Lordships,  to  procure  Custom-House  Officers  at 
the  Port  of  Beaufort,  that  Tov^n  increasing  very  much 
in  Inhabitants,  and  it  being  a  very  great  Discouragement 
to  them  that  they  are  obliged  to  bring  all  their  Produce 
to  Charles-Town,  and  will  very  much  retard  the  Well- 
Peopling  the  Southern  Parts  of  the  Colony. 

"  It  is  also  the  humble  Request  an  d  advice  of  the 
said  Governor  and  Council,  as  a  thing  that  will  lay  a 
very  great  Obligation  on  the  Country  in  general,  That 
your  Lordships  will  please  to  grant  6000  Acres  of  Land 
gratis  to  the  Publick,  for  the  Use  of  the  three  Garisons 
at  Savanah  Town,  the  Congrees,  and  the  Apalachocoles  ; 
and  that  some  part  of  the  Land  to  the  Northward,  may 
be  granted  and  disposed  of  on  the  same  Terms  as  the 
Yamazee  Lands,  in  order  to  the  effectual  Securing  and 
Well-Peopling  the  Frontires  of  the  Northward  as  well 
as  to  the  Southward. 

''  As  these  would  be  very  great  Concessions,  and  they 
hope  very  much  dispose  the  People  to  make  your  Lord- 
ships such  Returns  of  Duty  and   Respect  as  they  wish 
had  always  been  done,  and  will,  they  hope,  very  much 
contribute  to  the  Peopling  the  Country;  so  they  also 
hope,  your  Lordships  will  secure  and  preserve  them  in 
their  Properties,  (a  much  greater  Encouragement  than 
all  the  rest,)  by  putting  it  into  their  Power  to  assert  their 
undoubted  Right  of  Appealing  from  any  erroneous  Judg- 
ments in  Law ;  which  Right  they  are  now  debarr'd  by 
the  sole  Judicial  Power  being  lodg'd  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Chief  Justice  Trott,  in  the  Khig^s  Bench,  Court  of  Pleas, 
Court  of  Admiralty,   and  Court  of  Chancery ;  a  Trust 
never  repos'd  in  any   one  Man  before  in    the  World, 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  157 

and  whicli  the  General  Assembly  has  desir'd  them  to 
joyn,  in  Addressing  your  Lordships  to  have  remedied, 
and  which  I  am  directed  herewith  to  present  to  your 
Lordships. 

"All  which  is  most  humbly  submitted  to  your  Lord- 
ships Consideration,  m  London.     The  5th  of  June  1719." 

With  this,  Mr.  Yonge  also  deliver'd  them  a  Letter  from 
Governour  Johnson,  the  Articles  of  Complaint  against 
Mr.  Trott,  and  an  Address  from  the  Governor,  Council, 
and  Assembly,  that  he  might  be  remov'd,  or  at  least  be 
made  contented  with  one  single  Jurisdiction,  and  several 
Acts  of  Assembly ;  one  of  which  was,  for  the  better  re- 
covery of  their  Quit  Rents,  with  a  Clause  in  it,  making 
it  of  no  Force,  unless  approv'd  of  by  their  Lordships : 
This  was  thought  proper  to  be  done,  the  People  still  in- 
sisting, That  an  Act  ratified  by  the  Lords-Deputies  in 
Carolina,  could  not  be  repeal'd  by  them  ;  and  this  being 
their  own  particular  Concern,  requir'd  their  more  par- 
ticular Approbation. 

Mr.  Yonge  v^aited  upon  their  Lordships  three  Months 
in  London,  and  attended  their  Boards,  in  order  to  the 
satisfying  them  in  any  thing  they  might  have  had  Occa- 
sion to  have  enquir'd  after  of  him,  concerning  the  State 
of  the  Country,  or  of  the  best  Methods  to  be  taken  to  al- 
lay the  Heats,  and  reconcile  the  People  to  their  Author- 
ity ;  which  he  apprehended  was  not  more  than  he  ought 
to  expect,  since  they  had  done  him  the  Honour  to  ap- 
point him  the  Surveyor-General,  and  one  of  their  Coun- 
cil, and  he  had  sail'd  Five  or  Six  Thousand  Miles  for 
their  Service,  in  a  Conjuncture  that  their  Governor  and 
Council  thought  it  most  absolutely  necessary  he  should 
do  so.  But  their  Lordships  were  of  other  Sentiments  ; 
it  may  be  suppos'd  they  took  all  for  Fact  that  was  sent 


158  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

tliem  by  Mr.  Trotfs  private  Letters  and  at  last,  dis- 
patch'd  him  back  with  Pacquets  seal'd  up,  for  the  Gov- 
emoTir,  amongst  which,  upon  his  Arrival  in  Carolina, 
was  found  the  following  Letter. 

SIR, 

We  have  receiv'd  and  perus'd  your  Letters,  and  all 
your  Papers  deliver'd  us,  by  your  Agent  Mr.  Yonge;  and 
though  we  are  favourably  inclin'd  in  all  our  Thoughts 
relating  to  our  Governor,  yet  we  must  tell  you,  we  think 
you  have  not  obeyed  your  Orders  and  Directions  given 
to  you,  to  Dissolve  that  Assembly,  and  call  another  forth- 
with, accordmg  to  the  ancient  Usage  and  Custom  of  the 
Province  ;  and  to  publish  our  Repeals  of  those  Acts  of 
Assembly,  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  om"  Orders 
aforesaid  :  But  we  shall  say  no  more  upon  the  subject 
now,  not  doubting  but  our  Govemour  will  pay  a  more 
punctual  obedience  to  our  Orders  for  the  future. 

"  The  Lords  Proprietors  Right  of  Confirming  and  Re- 
pealing Laws,  was  so  particular  a  Privilege  granted  to 
them  by  the  Crown,  that  we  can  never  recede  from  it : 
and  we  do  assure  you  we  are  not  a  little  surprised,  that 
you  would  suffer  that  prerogative  of  ours  to  be  dispu- 
ted. 

"  We  have  sent  you  herewith  an  Instruction  under 
our  Hands  and  Seals,  nominating  such  persons  as  we 
think  fit  to  be  of  the  Council  with  you,  six  whereof,  and 
your  self,  and  no  less  Number,  to  be  a  Quorum.  Upon 
your  Receipt  of  this,  we  hereby  require  you  to  summons 
the  said  Council,  that  they  may  qualify  themselves  ac- 
cording to  Law,  and  immediately  sit  upon  the  Dispatch 
of  Business. 

"  We  also  send  you  the  Repeal  of  the  Acts  of  Assem- 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  159 

bly,  which  we  Order  you  to  Publish  immediately,  upon 
the  receipt  of  this. 

"  We  do  assure  Mr.  Johnson,  that  we  will  stand  by 
him  in  all  Things  that  relate  to  the  just  Execution  of 
his  Office,  and  we  are  Confident  that  he  will  perform 
his  duty  to  us,  and  support  our  Power  and  Prerogatives 
to  the  best  of  his  Abihties. 

"  If  the  Assembly  chosen  according  to  j out  pretended 
late  Act  is  not  dissolv'd,  as  we  formerly  Order'd,  and  a 
New  Assembly  Chosen,  pursuant  to  the  Act  formerly 
Confirm'd  by  the  Proprietors,  you  are  forthwith  Com- 
manded hereby,  to  Dissolve  that  Assembly,  and  to  Call 
another,  according  to  the  above  mention'd  Assembly,  so 
we  bid  you  heartily  Farewel,  and  are, 

Your  very  Loving  Friends, 
Carteret  P. 

Bertie  for  D.  Beaufort. 
M.  Ashley. 
J.  Collit07i. 
J.  Danson. 

Although  the  above  Letter  has  my  Lord  Carteret s 
Name  to  it,  it  was  put  by  Mr.  Ashley,  who  had  a  Pow- 
er to  Act  for  his  Lordship,  he  being  then  on  his  Embas- 
sy to  the  Court  of  Srveden. 

With  this  letter  they  sent  an  Instrument  under  their 
Hands  and  Seals,  appointing  Twelve  Gentlemen  of  the 
Council ;  whereas  before,  there  were  but  Seven,  who 
(as  has  been  said)  represented  each  one  of  the  Proprie- 
tors, and  was  called  such  a  one's  Deputy ;  and  the  Gov- 
ernor represented  the  Palatine.  They  now  also  again 
Repeal'd  the  Duty  Law,  and  two  others  ;  and  instead  of 
granting  Land  for  the  Publick  Use  of  the  Garisons,  they 
gave  strict  Orders,  that  no  more  Land  should  be  grant- 
■ed  to  any  Person  whatsoever,  but  ordered  fifteen  Baro- 


160  PROCEEDINGS    OF  THE 

nies  each  containing  12,000  Acres  to  be  laid  out  for  their 
own  Private  Use,  as  near  as  might  be  to  Port-Royal 
They  also  sent  a  Copy  of  the  Complaint  against  Mr. 
Trott  to  him,  and  desired  he  would  send  them  an  An- 
swer to  it,  and  w^ith  it  a  Letter  of  Thanks  for  the  Speech 
he  had  made,  at  the  Conference  of  both  Houses,  in  Jus- 
tification of  their  Right  of  Repealing  Laws ;  and  to 
manifest  how  much  they  resented  the  Conduct  of  those 
of  the  Council,  who  had  join'd  with  the  Lower  House 
of  Assembly,  in  the  Complaint  against  him,  who  were, 
Col.  Thomas  Broughton,  Mr.  Alexander  Skene,  Mr.  James 
Kinlaugh,  and  Mr.  Yonge,  (the  first  of  these  the  Gover 
nor's  Brother  in  Law)  they  left  the  three  first  out  of 
the  Council ;  and  one  of  the  Proprietors  told  Mr.  Yonge, 
he  had  also  been  left  out,  but  in  Respect  to  my  Lord 
Carteret,  who  was  his  Patron  and  recommended  him. 

By  this  the  Governor  found  Mr.  Trott  was  to  Rule 
the  Province,  tho'  he  had  the  Name  of  it ;  and  therefore 
he  resolv'd  for  the  future  to  Act  by  his  and  the  new 
Council's  Advice,  that  they  might  be  answerable  for  any 
ill  Effects  their  future  Councils  and  Transactions  might 
produce.  He  according  to  the  Lords  Proprietors  Orders, 
call'd  his  New  Council,  and  qualified  such  of  them  as 
would  serve.  Several  of  them  refusing,  he  declar'd  the 
three  Acts  of  Assembly  Repeal'd,  and  by  Proclamation 
dissolv'd  the  Assembly,  and  called  anew  one,  to  be  cho- 
sen all  at  Charles  Torvn,  after  the  old  Method.  Thus 
the  People  were  irritated  and  heated  to  a  violent  De- 
gree, and  the  Basis  of  all  Government  being  either  Love, 
Fear,  or  Interest,  or  perhaps  any  two,  or  a  Mixture  of  all 
the  three,  but  in  this  there  was  neither  one  nor  the  other  ; 
for  they  thought  they  had  no  Reason  to  love  the  Pro- 
prietors, who  not  only  refused  them  Justice  but  pro- 
.tected  and  countenanc'd  an  Evil  Minister  in  an  OflSce 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  161 

which  most  immediately  affected  their  Lives  and  Pro- 
erties,  who  refused  to  part  with  the  Uncultivated  Lands, 
either  for  the  Publick  or  any  Private  Use  but  their 
own ;  tho'  it  is  apparent  by  their  Charter,  it  was  grant- 
ed to  them  to  be  disposed  of  in  such  a  Manner,  as  to 
encourage  his  Majesty's  Subjects  to  go  over  and  settle 
there,  and  to  extend  his  Dominions,  and  they  had  just 
before  promis'd  it  in  Tracts  of  200  Acres  to  new  Comers ; 
on  which  Promise  several  Hundreds  had  come  from 
Ireland,  but  could  not  have  a  Yard  of  Land  to  settle  on 
when  they  came,  and  this  notwithstanding  the  Country 
had  been  put  to  the  Expense  of  paying  some  Thou- 
sands of  Pounds  for  their  Passage  to  Carolina :  so  that 
the  Number  of  Inhabitants  could  not  be  increas'd  nor 
their  Frontiers  strengthen'd,  neither  would  they  allow 
them  the  Freedom  they  desir'd,  and  what  was  the  Prac- 
tice of  other  Colonies,  in  chusing  their  Representatives, 
nearest  the  Methods  used  in  England,  which  their  Laws 
are  to  be,  by  the  express  Words  of  the  Charter.  Another 
reason  of  their  not  loving  the  Proprietors,  is  the  same 
that  made  them  not  fear  them,  i.  e.  their  Inability  to 
succour  and  protect  them,  either  from  their  own  Intes- 
tine Enemies,  the  Indians,  or  from  the  Spania/rds,  with 
whom  at  that  time  there  was  a  War ;  for  it  is  very  na- 
tural to  think,  that  if  they  could  not  send  Forces  to  assist 
them,  it  would  be  as  difficult  to  correct  them;  and  last- 
ly, they  judg'd  it  plainly  their  Interest  to  be  under  the 
Crown,  v/ho  could  and  would  protect  them,  and  also  (as 
they  hoped)  to  put  them  in  the  same  Circumstances 
with  His  Majesty's  other  Colonies  in  America,  who, 
they  found,  had  proper  Assistances  from  the  Crown. 
As  there  was  therefore  neither  Fear,  nor  Love,  nor  In- 
terest to  support  this  Government,  how  could  it  long  sub- 
sist ? 

21 


162  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

The  Lords  Proprietors  who  liv'd  m  England,  although 
most  of  them  Men  of  Quahty,  whether  they  left  it  to  an 
Under-Officer  who  they  trusted  with  their  Dispatches, 
and  who  abus'd  his  Trust,  and  did  not  give  them  just 
Accounts  of  their  Affairs,   for  fear  it  might  affect  his 
Friends  in  Carolina,  Mr.  Trott,  and  Mr.  Rhett;  or  what- 
ever was  the  Cause,  we  shall  leave  it  to  the  World  to 
judge,  whether  they  acted  as  if  they  knew  or  desir'd  to 
be  inform'd  of  the  State  of  their  Affairs  there  ;  for  they 
gave  no  manner  of  Credit  to  what  was  told,  and  desir'd 
of  them,  by  the  whole  Body  of  the  People,  the  Gover- 
nor,  Council,  and  Assembly ;    but  to  shew  they  were 
resolv'd  to   be  Despotich  and  Absolute,  they  acted  just 
contrary  to  what  they  were  requested  by  them,  in  the 
most  humble  manner,  to  do  ;  and  because  the  Act  which 
was  past  for  the  better  recovering  of  their  Quit-Re7its, 
also  obliged  them  to  part  with  their  Lands  at  a  certain 
Rate,   they  disapprov'd  of  that,  being  resolv'd  to  part 
with  no  more,   though  at  the  Hazard  of  ruining  those 
already  settled  there.     Indeed,  my  Lord   Carteret  was 
not  then  in  England,  or  I  cannot  imagine  he  would  have 
consented  to  the  acting  in  this  manner,  neither  were 
some  others  of  their  Board  then  at  Age  ;   but  as  I  am 
inform'd  every  thing  was  left  to  their  Secretary,  who 
sent  any  Instrument  when  drawn,  by  the  Post,  to  such 
as  were  out  of  Town,  or  carried  them  to  sign,  to  those 
that  were  in  Town,  v/hich  was  generally  done  without 
any  previous  Consideration,  whether  they  were  fit  and 
convenient  to  be  done  or  not ;  and  thus  a  whole  Pro- 
vince was  to  be  govern'd  by  the  Caprice  of  one  Man. 
But  to  return  to  our  History. 

The  Governor  call'd  the  Assembly  according  to  his 
new  Instruction,  to  be  chosen  at  Charles  Torvn  ;  and  now 
Mr.  Rhett,  and  Mr.  Trott  found  themselves  mistaken,  in 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAEOLINA.  163 

fancying  they  could  influence  the  Elections  when  in 
Town,  so  as  to  have  such  Members  chosen  as  they 
liked  :  for  it  proved  quite  the  contrary ;  they  could  not 
get  so  much  as  a  Man  chose  that  they  desir'd,  the 
vi^hole  People  in  general  were  prejudic'd  against  the 
Lo7'ds  Proprietors  to  such  a  degree,  that  it  was  grown 
almost  dangerous  to  say  any  thing  in  their  Favour  ;  and 
about  this  time  (which  added  more  to  their  Dislike)  the 
Governor  receiv'd  Advice,  that  the  Spaniards  from  the 
Havanah  design'd  to  attack  the  Country.  Upon  which 
(the  time  of  meeting  of  the  "New  Assembly  being  not 
yet  come)  he  was  oblig'd  to  call  his  Council  and  such 
of  the  new-elected  Members  as  could  be  got  together, 
and  inform'd  them  of  the  Advice  he  had  receiv'd ;  and 
he  desir'd  they  would  consider  of  the  ill  Conditions  the 
Fortifications  were  in,  and  the  Necessity  there  was  imme- 
diately to  repair  them;  which  he  propos'd  to  do  by  Vo- 
luntary Subscription,  until  the  Assembly  could  provide 
for  the  doing  it :  And  to  show  an  Example  himself,  he 
subscribed  500/.  (to  such  Extremity  the  Dissolving  the 
former  Assembly  reduced  the  Province.)  Those  of  the 
Assembly  made  Answer,  They  thought  the  Income  of 
their  Duties  were  sufficient  for  that  Service.  The  Go- 
vernor objected,  that  the  Law  was  Repeal'd  by  the  Pro- 
prietors. To  which  Answer  was  again  made,  That  the 
Publick  Receiver  was  order'd  to  sue  any  Man  that  re- 
fused to  pay  as  that  Law  directed;  for  they  did  not  nor 
would  look  on  their  Repeal  as  any  thing.  Mr.  Trott 
told  them,  If  any  Action  was  brought  into  his  Courts 
(for  so  he  always  call'd  them)  on  that  Act,  he  would 
give  Judgment  for  the  Defendant.  At  this  Meeting  hot 
Arguments  arose  among  them,  and  they  broke  up  without 
doing  any  thing,  chusing  rather  to  hazard  the  loss  of 
the  Country  to  the  Spaniards,  than  submit  to  acknow- 


164  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

ledge  a  Right  in  the  Proprietors  of  RepeaUng  their 
Laws. 

The  Governor  was  likewise  oblig'd  by  this  Advice  he 
had  receiv'd  of  the  Spaniards  Intentions,  to  call  the 
Field-Officers  of  the  Militia  together,  to  give  them  Or- 
ders to  review  the  Regiments,  and  settle  a  Rendezvous, 
in  case  of  the  Spaniards  attempting  to  land  in  any  part 
of  the  Country.  Which  Orders  they  seem'd  to  receive 
as  usual,  and  muster'd  the  Regiments  upon  the  Day  pre- 
fix'd;  but  had  an  Association  prepar'd;  and  when  to- 
gether, got  all  the  People  to  Sign  it  almost  to  a  Man ; 
and  so  the  whole  Province  was  at  once  brought  into  a 
Confederacy  against  the  Lords  Proprietors,  unknown  to 
the  Governor. 

In  this  Assembly  Mr.  Skene  was  elected  a  Member ; 
who  being  one  of  those  remov'd  from  the  Council  by 
the  Proprietors,  went  in  amongst  the  rest,  full  of  Resent- 
ment against  them,  and  having  been  for  many  Years 
Secretary  to  the  Island  of  Barbadoes,  was  look'd  upon  as 
a  Man  that  understood  Publick  Affairs  very  well ;  and 
several  others  of  the  best  Understanding  had  frequently 
private  Meetings,  in  which  theyresolv'd  to  have  no  more 
to  do  with  the  Proprietors.  And  they  were  the  more 
encourag'd  to  throw  off  their  Authority,  by  a  Vote  that 
had  passed  in  the  House  of  Peers  some  Years  before, 
That  the  Lords  Proprietors  had  forfeited  their  Charter  : 
And  an  Address  their  Lordships  made  to  her  then  Ma- 
jesty Queeix  Anne,  wherein  they  desired  she  would  be 
pleased  to  order  her  Attorney -General  to  Prosecute  the 
same,  and  to  assume  the  Government  of  the  Country  to 
herself  Besides,  they  had  been  told  by  their  then 
Agents,  That  when  Her  Majesty  was  desired  to  send 
them  Rehef  in  their  Indian  War,  and  the  Government 
was  expected,  if  she  did  so,  that  my  Lord  Carteret  v/as 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  165 

SO  good,  as  publickly  to  declare  to  the  then  Lords  of  the 
Trade,  He  should  be  willing  (as  to  his  own  particular) 
to  give  up  the  Government,  rather  than  they  should  want 
that  Relief.  And  the  Time  seem'd  to  be  now  coming, 
by  the  Attack  threatned  by  the  Spaniards,  when  they 
should  more  than  ever  want  the  Assistance  of  the  Crown ; 
and  therefore  they  were  resolv'd  to  remove  the  former 
Objection,  and  put  themselves  imder  His  Majesty's  im- 
mediate Protection. 

The  first  Notice  that  the  Governor  had  of  the  Cer- 
tainty of  this,  and  of  their  being  come  to  a  fix'd  Resolu- 
tion, was  by  a  Joint-Letter  from  Mr.  Skene,  Col.  Logan, 
and  Major  Blakeway,  in  these  words  : 

Sir, 
"  We  doubt  not  but  you  have  heard  of  the  whole  Pro- 
vince entering  into  an  Association  to  stand  by  their 
Rights  and  Privileges,  and  to  get  rid  of  the  Oppression 
and  Arbitrary  Dealings  of  the  Lords  Proprietors :  And 
as  we  always  bore  you  the  greatest  Deference  and  Re- 
spect imaginable,  we  take  this  Opportunity  to  let  you 
know,  that  a  Committee  of  the  Peoples  Representatives 
were  last  Night  appointed  to  wait  on  you  this  Morning, 
to  acquaint  you,  That  they  are  come  to  a  Resolution, 
To  have  no  Regard  to  the  Lords  Officers,  nor  their  Ad- 
ministration;  And  withal,  To  beg  that  your  Honour 
would  hold  the  Reins  of  Government  for  the  King,  'till 
His  Majesty's  Pleasure  be  known. 

"  The  great  Value  the  whole  Country  expresses  for 
your  Honour's  Person,  makes  them  desirous  of  having 
no  body  but  your  Self  to  Govern  them :  And  as  you 
must  be  convinc'd  that  no  Person  can  be  more  passion-' 
ately  desirous  of  your  Government  than  our  selves,  we 
hope  you  will  not  take  amiss  any  Advice  given  by  faith- 


166  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

ful  and  affectionate  Friends  ;  and  therefore  we  take  the 
Liberty  to  tell  you  freely,  That  we  are  of  Opinion,  that 
your  Honour  may  take  the  Government  npon  you,  up- 
on the  Offer  of  the  People,  for  the  King;  and  repre- 
sent the  Proprietors,  That  rather  than  the  whole  Coun- 
try should  be  in  Confusion  and  want  a  Governing  Pow- 
er, you  held  it  for  their  Lordships  ;  tho'yon  w^ere  oblig'd 
to  comply  with  the  Province,  who  were  unanimously  of 
Opinion  that  they  would  have  no  Proprietors  Govern- 
ment. 

"  We  could  v/ish  for  a  longer  and  better  Opportunity 
to  explain  this  Affair  to  you ;  but  it  is  impossible,  for 
the  Gentlemen  will  be  with  you  in  two  Hours  at  the 
farthest.  We  heartily  wish  your  Honour  the  utmost 
Success,  let  it  go  which  way  it  will ;  but  beg  Leave  to 
observe,  That  your  Compliance,  v^ill  be  not  only  the 
Greatest  Satisfaction  imaginable  to  the  Province  in  gen- 
eral, but  in  particular  to, 

"  Your  most  Obedient,  &c. 
"  Sign'd  A.  Slcene, 

"  Geo.  Logan, 
"  William  Slakervayy 
"  2Si]iNov.  1719." 

The  Governor  being  at  his  Plantation  about  four 
Miles  off  when  he  receiv'd  this  Letter,  he  came  imme- 
diately to  Town,  and  summon'd  such  of  his  Council  as 
he  could  get  together,  who  were  Mr.  Izard,  Judge  Trott, 
Mr.  Hart,  Mr.  Delaconsiliere,  Col.  Bull,  Mr.  Butler,  and 
Wx.Jacoh  Satur,  and  acquainted  them  with  what  he  had 
heard,  and  that  he  had  met  in  the  Town  Mr.  Skene  and 
Mr.  Berrisford,  who  told  him  that  those  who  had  de- 
signed to   wait  on  him  as  above  related,  had  chang'd 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA  167 

their  Minds,  and  were  dispers'd  and  gone  to  their  re- 
spective Homes.  Upon  all  which  he  desir'd  the  Coun- 
cil's Opinion  what  was  proper  to  be  done  ;  who  unani- 
mously advis'd  him,  That  considering  they  had  alter'd 
their  Resolution  of  waiting  on  their  Governor,  no  fur- 
ther Notice  should  be  taken  of  their  Proceedings,  until 
such  time  as  they  should  meet  as  an  Assembly,  and  the 
matter  should  be  reviv'd. 

This  I  have  mention'd  more  particularly,  to  shew  that 
if  Mr.  Johnson  did  not  act  in  a  more  vigorous  Manner, 
on  the  first  Notice  he  had  of  the  Designs  of  the  Peo- 
ple, it  was  owing  to  the  Advice  of  his  Council,  who  he 
was  resolv'd  to  be  guided  by,  tho'  contrary  to  his  own 
Opinion,  especially  by  Mr.  Trott,  in  whose  Favour  the 
Proprietors  had  shewn  themselves  so  partial. 

Before  and  after  this,  the  Gentlemen  that  were  cho- 
sen to  be  of  the  Assembly  had  many  private  Meetings 
in  the  Country  ;  their  Association  was  form'd,  as  before 
mention'd,  and  almost  every  body  in  the  whole  Pro- 
vince did  sign  it,  except  some  few  who  more  immediately 
belong'd  to  the  Proprietors:  In  it  they  promis'd  and 
agreed  to  stand  by  and  support  whatsoever  should  be 
done  by  their  Representatives  then  newly  chosen,  in 
disengaging  the  Country  from  the  Yoke  and  Burthen 
they  labour'd  under  from  the  Proprietors,  and  putting 
the  Province  under  the  government  of  His  Majesty. 

Having  thus  previously  fortified  themselves  by  the 
Consent  of  the  People,  they  met  according  to  the  Te- 
nor of  their  Writs,  about  the  10th.  of  December,  1719  :  and 
the  Governor  sending  them  a  Message  as  usual,  that  he 
was  ready,  with  the  Council,  to  receive  them,  and  to 
order  them  to  chuse  the  Speaker ;  they  came  in  a  Body, 
and  Mr.  Middleto7i  deliver'd  himself  in  the  following 
Manner. 


168  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

May  it  please  your  Honour, 

"  I  am  order'd  by  tlie  Representatives  of  the  People 
here  present,  to  tell  you,  that  according  to  your  Hon- 
our's Order,  we  are  come  to  wait  upon  you ;  I  am  fur- 
ther order'd  to  acquaint  you,  that  we  own  your  Honour 
as  our  Govemour,  you  being  approv'd  by  the  King  ;  and 
us  there  was  once  in  this  Province  a  legal  Council,  Re- 
presenting the  Proprietors  as  theirDeputies ;  which  Con- 
stitution being  now  alter'd,  we  do  not  look  upon  the 
Gentlemen  present  to  be  a  legal  Council ;  so  I  am  or- 
der'd to  tell  you.  That  the  Representatives  of  the  Peo- 
ple do  disown  them  as  such,  and  will  not  act  with  them 
on  any  Account." 

This  Speech  was  deliver'd  in  Writing,  at  the  Gover- 
nour's  Desire,  and  sign'd  by  Mr.  Middleton,  as  President, 
and  Twenty-two  more  of  the  Assembly.  They  had  (I 
suppose,  before  they  came  to  the  Governor)  in  their  own 
House,  come  to  the  following  Resolutions,  viz. 

"That  the  several  Laws  hereafter  mention'd,  and  pre- 
tended to  be  Repeal'd,  are  still  in  Force  within  this  Pro- 
vince, and  could  not  be  Repeal'd,  or  made  Void  or  Null, 
but  by  the  General  Assembly  of  this  Proidnce :  and 
that  all  Publick  Ofl&cers,  and  others,  are  to  have  due  Re- 
gard to  thejsame  accordingly. 

{a)  ^'An  act  intituled,  An  Act  for  declaring  the  Rights 
of  the  House  of  Commons  for  the  Time  being,  to  Nomi- 
nate a  Publick  Receiver. 

''An  Act,  intituled.  An  Act  for  Laying  an  Imposition  on 
Negroes,  Liquors,  and  other  Goods  and  Merchandizes,  6fC. 

''An  act  intituled.  An  Act  to  Ascertain  the  Form  and 

(a)  These  Three  Acts  are  those  the  Lords  Repeal'd,  at  the  same 
time  they  appointed  a  new  Council. 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.         169 

Manner  of  Electing  Members  to  Represent  the  Inhabitants^ 
&c. 

Resolv'd, 

"■  That  the  Writs  whereby  we  the  Representatives 
here  met  were  elected,  are  illegal :  First,  Because  they 
are  sign'd  by  such  a  Council,  as,  we  conceive,  the  Pro- 
prietors have  not  a  Power  to  appoint. 

"  Secondly,  For  that  their  Council  does  consist  of  a 
greater  Number  of  Members  than  the  Proprietors  them- 
selves are,  which,  we  believe,  is  contrary  to  the  Design 
and  original  Intent  of  their  Charter,  and  approaching 
too  near  the  Method  taken  by  His  Majesty  and  his  Pre- 
decessors, in  his  Plantations,  whom  they  ought  not  to 
pretend  to  imitate  or  follow ;  His  Majesty  not  being  con- 
fin'd  to  an}''  Number  in  his  Council  in  his  Plantations, 
but  as  he  thinks  fit  Himself;  but  the  Proprietors,  as 
Subjects,  we  believe,  are  bound  by  a  Charter. 

"  Thirdly,  Were  there  no  Doubt  of  the  Legality  of 
the  Council,  yet,  according  to  the  Proprietors  Instruc- 
tions, there  was  not  a  sufficient  Number  to  dissolve  the 
last  Assembly,  one  of  the  Council  Signing  being  a  Fo- 
reigner, not  Naturalized,  and  consequently  not  capable 
of  doing  any  Act  of  Government  in  any  of  the  British 
Dominions,  and  expressly  contrary  to  the  Lords  Pro- 
prietors Charter;  and  a  high  Act  of  Presumption  in  them 
thus  to  impose  upon  His  Majesty's  Free  People  of  this 
Province,  for  the  aforesaid  Reasons. 

Resolv'^d, 

''  That  we  cannot  Act  as  an  Assembly,  but  as  a  Con- 
vention, delegated  by  the  People,  to  prevent  the  utter 
Ruin  of  this  Government,  if  not  the  Loss  of  the  Province, 
until  His  Majesty's  Pleasure  be  known. 

"  That  the  Lords  Proprietors  have,  by  such  their  Pro- 
ceedings, unhing'd  the  Frame  of  Government,  and  for- 

22 


170  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

felted  their  Right  to  the  same  ;  and  that  an  Address  be 
prepared,  to  desire  the  Honourable  Robert  Johnson  Esq; 
our  present  Governor,  to  take  the  Government  upon 
him  in  the  King's  Name,  and  to  Continue  the  Adminis- 
tration thereof  until  His  Majesty's  Pleasure  be  known." 
These  bold  proceedings  very  much  alarmed  the  Go- 
vernor and  his  Council,  and  put  them  on  considering 
what  could  be  done,  Whether  rough  or  gentle  Means 
were  to  be  used  ?  It  w^as  Mr.  Trotfs  and  the  Majority  of 
the  Council's  Opinion,  That  the  Defection  was  too  gene- 
ral to  use  any  other  Means  than  mild  Expostulations, 
the  People  being  all  engaged  in  their  Interest;  but  if 
those  should  fail,  they  might  then  be  Dissolv'd,  which 
would  make  them  disperse,  and  so  put  an- end  to  the 
Dispute  for  the  present ;  but  this,  it  was  thought,  might 
have  its  ill  consequences,  and  therefore  was  the  last 
Method  to  be  try'd :  For  how  should  they  raise  Money 
to  fortify  and  secure  themselves  from  the  Spaniards, 
who  they  expected  every  Day  to  attack  them?  The 
Lords  Proprietors  had  again  Repeal'd  the  Duty  Law,  so 
that  many  People  refus'd  to  pay  any  Duties ;  and  this 
was  the  only  Fund  they  had  to  repair  their  Works. 

The  Result  of  these  Debates,  was,  a  Message,  That 
the  Governor  and  Council  desir'd  a  Conference  with 
them.  To  which  they  answer'd.  That  they  would  not 
receive  any  Message  or  Paper  from  the  Governor,  in 
Conjunction  v/ith  those  Gentlemen  he  call'd  his  Council; 
and  tliis  constrain'd  Mr.  Johnson  to  send  for  them  in  his 
own  Name,  w^hen  he  made  them  the  following  Speech  : 

"  When  I  sent  for  you  the  other  Day,  I  intended  to 
have  desir'd  you  to  have  chosen  your  Speaker,  to  be 
presented  to  me  as  usual,  and  then  I  did  propose  to  have 
spoke  to  you  in  the  following  Manner : 

"  Your  being  met  together  at  a  Time  when  there  was 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  171 

never  more  Occasion  for  a  ready  Dispatch  of  Publick 
Business,  and  a  good  Harmony  betwixt  the  Upper  and 
Lower  House  ;  I  must  recommend  that  to  you,  and  no- 
thing will  be  wanting  on  my  Part  to  promote  a  good 
Understanding  betwixt  the  Lords  Proprietors  and  the 
People,  at  present  (to  my  great  Affliction)  I  fear  too  much 
interrupted :  I  must  therefore  in  the  first  Place,  recom- 
mend to  you.  That  you  will,  without  Delay,  or  other 
Matter  intervening,  fall  upon  proper  Methods  for  raising 
Money  for  finishing  the  Repairs  of  the  Fortifications, 
and  providing  Stores  of  War,  which  are  much  wanted. 
The  Intelligence  which  I  have  of  the  Designs  of  our 
Enemies,  which  makes  this  Work  so  necessary  shall  be 
laid  before  you. 

"  I  am  sorry  the  Lords  Proprietors  have  been  induced 
(by  a  Necessity,  to  Defend  and  Support  their  just  Pre- 
rogatives) at  this  Juncture  to  disannul  some  of  your 
Laws  ;  if  they  had  not  thought  the  letting  those  Acts 
subsist,  might  have  render'd  their  Hight  of  Repeal  pre- 
carious, they  would  have  sufiJer'd  them  still  to  continue. 
I  hope  from  you  therefore  a  Respectful  behaviour  to- 
wards them,  that  we  may  not  feel  any  more  their  Dis- 
pleasure in  so  sensible  a  Manner,  as  the  Loss  (in  this 
Time  of  Need)  of  our  Dutij  Law,  and  which  has  also 
occasion'd  an  Injunction  to  Me  and  the  Council,  from 
acting  with  any  Assembly  who  shall  dispute  their  Lord- 
ships undoubted  Right  of  Repealing  Laws,  and  appoint- 
ing Officers  Civil  and  Military. 

"  I  find  some  are  jealous  and  uneasy  on  Account  of 
Rumours  spread,  That  you  design  to  alter  the  Tax  Act, 
for  sinking  your  Paper  Currency.  Publick  Credit 
ought  to  be  Sacred,  and  it  is  a  standing  Maxim,  That 
no  State  can  subsist  longer  than  their  Credit  is  maintained : 
I  hope  therefore  you  have  no  such  Intentions,  which 


172  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

would  put  me  under  a  Necessity  of  doing  what  I  have 
never  yet  done  ;  I  mean,  disagreeing  with  you. 

"  I  expect  therefore  you  will  make  good  what  the 
Publick  is  answerable  for,  and  proceed  to  such  farther 
Methods  for  paying  our  Debts,  as  shall  be  both  Honour- 
able and  Proper,  and  best  adapted  to  our  Circum- 
stances. 

"  The  Alarm  from  the  Southward,  about  five  Months 
since,  obliged  me  to  be  in  a  Posture  of  Defence,  and 
occasion'd  some  Charges,  the  Accounts  of  which  shall 
be  laid  before  you ;  and  I  desire  you  will  provide  for  the 
Discharge  of  them :  I  think  also  the  Militia  Acts  want 
some  Amendments,  and  that  you  should  contrive  to  keep 
a  good  Watch  in  Charles  Town. 

"  This  is  what  I  intended  to  have  recommended  to 
you :  but  Mr.  Middleton^s  telling  me,  in  the  Name  of  the 
rest,  that  you  would  not  Act  with,  and  your  surprising 
Message  since,  that  you  will  not  receive  any  Xhmgfrom 
me,  in  Conjunction  with  my  Council,  has  made  it  neces- 
sary for  me  to  take  this  Occasion  of  talking  with  that 
Plainness  and  Freedom  so  Extraordinary  a  Proceeding 
of  yours  requires.  And  First,  I  must  take  Notice  of 
your  Message,  wherein  you  say,  you  own  me  as  Gover- 
nor because  I  am  approv'd  of  by  the  King ;  but  that  you 
disown  the  Council  to  be  a  Legal  one,  nor  will  act  with 
them  on  any  account  whatsoever ;  and  this  is  subscrib'd 
by  all  your  Members :  but  upon  Examining,  I  find  it  to 
be  pretty  Dark  and  Evasive,  and  seems,  as  you  would 
avoid  expressing  in  plain  Terms,  what  I  have  too  much 
Cause  to  fear  is  your  Design,  I  mean,  to  Renounce 
all  Obedience  to  the  Lords  Proprietors :  And  this  I  can- 
not but  think  you  propose  from  all  your  Words  and  Ac- 
tions. You  say,  you  acknowledge  me,  because  I  am 
approv'd  of  by  the  King;   but  you  take  no  notice  of  my 


PEOPLE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  173 

Commission  from  the  Proprietors,  which  is  what  makes 
me  Governor.  The  Confirmation  of  the  King,  only 
signifies  his  Majesty's  Approbation  of  the  Person  the 
Lords  Proprietors  have  Constituted ;  but  it  is  my  Com- 
mission and  Instruction  from  them,  that  not  only  grants, 
but  hmits  my  Power,  and  contains  the  Rules  by  which 
I  must  Act,  and  are  to  warrant  and  vo"uch  my  Actions ; 
therefore  to  avoid  declaring  in  express  Terms,  your  re- 
nouncing the  Lords  Power,  and  at  the  same  time  doing 
it  in  effect,  is  to  create  perpetual  Doubts  and  Disputes, 
and  is  not  acting  with  that  Sincerity  and  Plainness 
which  ought  to  be  used  in  all  Publick  Debates,  and  es- 
pecially in  Matters  of  so  great  Concern  as  this  is,  and 
upon  which  so  great  Consequences  depend. 

"  I  do  Require  and  Demand  of  you  therefore,  and  ex- 
pect you  Answer  me  in  plain  and  positive  Terms,  Whe- 
ther you  own  the  Authority  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  as 
Lords  of  this  Province,  and  having  Authority  to  Admin- 
ister or  Authorise  others  to  Administer  the  Government 
thereof;  saving  the  Allegiance  of  Them  and  the  People 
to  His  Most  Sacred  Majesty  King  George?  Or,  Whe- 
ther you  absolutely  renounce  all  Obedience  to  Them, 
and  Those  Commission'd  and  Authoris'd  by  Them?  Or, 
Whether  you  admit  their  General  Power,  and  only  dis- 
pute that  particular  Branch  of  their  Authority,  in  Consti- 
tuting a  Council  after  the  Manner  they  have  now  done  ? 
If  you  deny  their  General  Power  and  Authority  in  this 
Province,  and  say,  that  their  Lordships  have  forfeited 
their  Charter,  as  Mr.  Berrisford  Asserted,  and  you  all 
Acquiesc'd  in ;  Then  I  demand  of  you  that  you  signify 
wherein  the  Lords  have  forfeited  their  Charter,  and 
what  particular  Branch  thereof  they  have  broken :  And 
I  demand  of  you,  That  supposing  (not  granting)  they 
have  made  a  Forfeiture  of  their  Charter ;  by  what  Power 


174  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

do  you  presume  to  renounce  their  Authority,  and  to 
model  a  Government  out  of  your  own  Heads,  before 
such  time  as  that,  by  a  Court  having  Lawful  Jurisdiction 
of  the  same,  it  shall  be  Adjudged  that  the  Lords  have 
made  a  Forfeiture  of  theh  Charter,  and  that  the  Powers 
granted  them  are  Null  and  Void  1  If  the  King  is  of 
Opinion,  that  any  Corporation  or  Society  has  made  a 
Forfeiture  of  the  Rights  and  Powers  granted  by  their 
Charter,  although  His  Majesty  may  have  the  Advice  of 
his  Attorney  and  Solicitor  General,  and  his  Judges  and 
Councel  Learned  in  the  Law,  that  such  a  Forfeiture  has 
been  made  ;  and  this  He  may  more  reasonably  depend 
upon  than  any  Advice  or  Assurance  you  can  have :  yet 
notwithstanding  this,  and  His  Supreme  Authority  as 
King,  He  never  dispossess'd  the  Persons  of  the  Powers 
Granted  them,  before  a  Quo  Warrmito  or  some  other 
Process  had  been  brought,  and  Judgment  obtain'd  against 
the  same.  And  if  the  King  doth  not  assume  such  a 
Power,  by  what  Authority  do  you  assume  it  ? 

"  I  desire  you  further  to  consider  the  Consequence 
that  attends  that  Assertion,  Of  the  Charter  being  for- 
feited, before  Judgment  is  given  upon  the  same.  For 
if  it  be  so,  then  the  Forfeiture  must  be  from  the  time 
that  the  Fact  was  committed  that  caused  the  Forfeit- 
ure ;  and  then  you  must  remember,  that  by  the  Char- 
ter, the  Lords  have  granted  to  them,  not  only  the  Pow- 
er of  ordering  the  Government,  but  also  the  Lands  are 
granted  to  them  by  the  said  Charter ;  so  that  if  there  is  a 
Forfeiture  of  the  Rights  and  Prerogatives  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, there  is  also  a  Forfeiture  of  their  Rights  to  the 
Lands  ;  and  to  Grants  made  by  their  Authority  of  any 
Lands,  since  the  Fact  committed  that  caused  the  Forfeit- 
ure, according  to  your  own  Doctrine  and  Assertion,  must 
be  Null  and  Void :  And  therefore,  how  many   Persons 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  175 

Titles  to  their  Lands  will  become  Void,  I  leave  you  to 
consider :  and  tho',  it  may  be  you  will  assign  some  new 
late  Fact,  that  you  say  you  will  cause  such  a  Forfeiture, 
by  which  you  may  think  to  avoid  the  ill  Consequences 
that  attends  the  Titles  to  the  Lands  ;  yet  know,  that  the 
Facts  that  you  assign,  may  not  be  the  only  ones  that  may 
be  thought  to  have  made  the  Forfeiture  of  theii*  Charter. 
And  if  your  present  Assertion  is  true,  that  they  may  be 
Dispossess'd  before  a  Judgment ;  it  may  be  other  Per- 
sons may  assign  other  Causes  of  the  Forfeiture,  besides 
those  which  you  assign,  which  may  have  been  commit- 
ted many  Years  ago:  For  you  cannot  but  know  there 
have  been  Persons  in  the  Province,  that  for  several 
Years  past  have  publickly  asserted,  that  the  Lords  have 
done  Facts,  for  which  their  Charter  was  become  forfeit- 
ed. Which  if  so,  I  leave  you  to  consider  what  a  Gate 
you  v/ill  leave  open  to  call  in  question,  nay,  utterly  de- 
stroy several  Hundreds  of  Peoples  Titles  to  their  Lands. 
And  tho'  you  have  most  unjustly  and  untruly  suggested 
to  the  People,  to  create  a  Prejudice  in  them  to  the  Lords 
Proprietors,  that  their  Lordships  design'd  to  dispute  theu' 
Titles  to  their  Lands ;  yet,  by  this  Assertion  and  Prac- 
tice, you  are  the  Persons  that  will  not  only  call  in  ques- 
tion, but  effectually  destroy  their  Titles. 

"  And  if  you  persist  in  disowning  the  Council  as  now 
authoriz'd,  then  I  desire  you  further  to  consider,  in 
what  Capacity  I  can  act  with  you,  and  to  what  Purpose 
you  pretend  to  sit  and  transact  the  Publick  Business  of 
the  Province.  You  know  very  well  I  am  not  able  to  joyn 
with  you  in  Passing  any  Law  without  the  Consent  of  my 
Council ;  and  surely  you  cannot  pretend  to  pass  Laws 
without  me ;  And  what  an  absolute  Occasion  there  is 
now  to  pass  some  Laws,  that  the  Province  may  be  put 
in  a  Posture  of  Defence,  and  the  contingent  Charges 


176  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

thereof  defray'd,  I  leave  you  seriously  to  consider,  and 
hope  you  will  not  lose  the  whole  Province  to  the  Ene- 
my, for  your  own  Humours. 

"  But  I  am  further  to  tell  you,  That  in  case  you  con- 
tinue to  deny  the  authority  of  the  Council,  you  cannot 
properly  style  yourselves  the  Representatives  of  the 
People  ;  for  you  know  very  well  you  were  chosen  Mem- 
bers of  Assembly,  pursuant  to,  and  by  virtue  of  the  Writs 
sign'd  by  my  Self  and  Council;  for  it  is  not  the  Peo- 
ple's Voting  for  you,  that  makes  you  become  their  Re- 
presentatives ;  the  Liege  People  of  this,  nor  any  other 
Province  have  Power  to  convene  and  chuse  their  Re- 
presentatives without  being  authoriz'd  so  to  do  byijsome 
Writ  or  Order  coming  from  Authority  lawfully  impow- 
er'd.  And  if  you  pretend  that  the  Writs  sign'd  by  me, 
as  Governor,  were  sufficient :  To  that,  I  answer.  That  I 
do  not  pretend  to  any  such  Authority,  but  joyntly,  and 
V\^ith  the  Consent  of  my  Council,  it  being  the  express 
Words  of  my  Commission ;  nor  did  I  Sign  the  Writs  in 
any  other  Capacity,  than  in  Conjunction  with  my  Coun- 
cil, who  also  sign'd  the  same.  But  if  my  Signing  the 
Writs,  were  sufficient  Authority  for  the  People  to  chuse 
you ;  then  you  must  allow,  that  as  the  Power  hes  sole- 
ly in  me  to  Call  you,  it  lies  also  solely  in  me  to  Dis- 
solve you  ;  and  therefore,  if  by  your  Actions  you  will 
force  me  to  make  use  of  that  Power,  I  do  hereby  publick- 
ly  Protest  and  Declare,  you  only  must  be  answerable  for 
tlie  ill  Consequences  may  attend  such  a  Dissolution,  and 
for  the  Loss  of  the  Lives  and  Estates  of  the  King's  Sub- 
jects in  this  Province  by  any  Attack  may  be  made  upon 
them  by  our  publick  Enemies  the  Spaniards,  or  from 
the  Indians,  by  reason  of  the  Province's  not  being  put 
into  such  a  Posture  of  Defence  as  it  ought,  and  would, 
if  you  proceeded  to  transact  the  Publick  Business  under 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  177 

a  Lawful  Authority ;  and  this  1  would  have  you  seri- 
ously to  consider  of. 

"  Notwithstanding  Stories  that  have  been  industriously 
spread  to  possess  the  People,  that  you  are  the  only 
Persons  who  stand  up  for  their  Rights  and  Privileges; 
by  which,  it  may  be,  you  have  so  far  engag'd  them  in 
your  Favour,  that  you  may  have  their  Assistance  to  ena- 
ble you  to  commit  any  Act  of  Force  or  Violence  upon  the 
Government,  and  the  Authority  of  the  Lords  Proprie- 
tors; yet  know,  and  be  assur'd.  That  the  Matters  in 
Dispute  are  of  that  Consequence,  that  they  must  and 
will  be  decided  by  an  Authority  in  England,  havmg 
lawfulJurisdiction  of  the  same  ;  and  that  there  it  must  be 
a  Law  and  Kight  that  must  justify  your  Claims,  and  not 
the  Consent  and  Approbation  of  the  People  of  Carolina, 
who  will  have  no  Weio^ht  there,  but  the  Rio^ht  and  Merit 
of  the  Cause. 

"  I  must  farther  mention  to  you,  That 't  is  notoriously 
known,  you  have  promoted  two  Forms  of  Associations, 
and  have  perswaded  the  People  to  sign  them.  How  far 
you  can  be  justified  at  Home,  behoves  you  to  consider : 
But  as  I  am  satisfied  no  Matter  of  such  Publick  Con- 
cern ought  to  be  carry'd  on  without  my  Knowledge,  so 
I  do  hereby  {a)  Require  and  Demand  of  you,  an  attest- 
ed Copy  of  both  Associations ;  and  though  it  may  not 
concern  me  to  have  the  Names  of  every  individual  Per- 
son that  has  sign'd  them,  yet  I  do  insist  upon  it,  that 
you  do  acquaint  me,  which  of  your  own  Members  have 
sign'd  both,  or  either  of  them,  as  also  the  Names  of  such 
Persons  who  have  Commissions,  or  hold  any  Places 
Civil  or  Military  under  their  Lordships,  or  of  such  Per- 
sons who  practice  the  Law  in  their  Lordships  Courts, 
and  have  sign'd  them. 

o 

(a)  Mr.  Johnson  never  saw  either  of  them. 
23 


178  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

"  To  what  is  here  Demanded  of  you,  I  do  Require 
your  plain  and  positive  Answer  in  express  Terms,  and 
that  you  do  in  Writing  give  me  the  same  in  a  Body,  and 
under  your  Hands." 

This  long-  Speech,  which  was  also  given  them  in 
Writing,  they  were  not  long  considering  of,  but  soon 
return'd  with  the  following  Message  : 

"  We  have  already  acquainted  you.  That  we  would 
not  receive  any  Message  or  Paper  from  your  Honour, 
in  Conjunction  with  the  Gentlemen  you  are  pleas'd  to 
call  your  Council;  therefore  we  must  now  again  repeat 
the  same,  and  beg  Leave  to  tell  you.  That  the  Paper 
yom'  Honour  read  and  deliver'd  to  us,  we  take  no  Notice 
of,  nor  shall  we  give  any  farther  Answer  to  it  but  in 
Great-Britain. 

Immediately  after  this,  they  came  with  the  following 
Address  to  the  Governor. 

South- Carolifia, 

To  the  Honourable  Robert  Johnson,  Esq; 

The  Humble  ADDRESS  of  the  Representatives  of  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  said  Province,  norv  convened  at 
Ciiarles  Town. 

May  it  please  your  Honour, 

"  It  is  with  no  small  Concern  that  we  find  ourselves 
oblig'd  to  Address  your  Honour,  in  a  Matter  which  no- 
thing but  the  absolute  Necessity  of  Self  Preservation 
could  at  this  Juncture  have  prevail'd  on  us  to  do.  The 
Reasons  are  already  by  us  made  known  to  your  Honour 
and  the  World,  therefore  we  forbear  to  rehearse  them ; 
but  proceed  to  take  Leave  to  assure  you,  That  it  i^  the 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  179 

greatest  Satisfaction  imaginable  to  us,  to  find  through- 
out the  whole  Country,  that  universal  Affection,  Defe- 
rence and  Respect  the  Inhabitants  bear  to  your  Hon- 
our's Person,  and  with  what  passionate  Desire  they 
wish  for  a  Continuance  of  your  gentle  and  good  Ad- 
ministration ;  and  since  we,  who  are  intrusted  with,  and 
are  the  Assertors  of  their  Rights  and  Liberties,  are 
unanimously  of  Opinion,  That  no  Person  is  fitter  to 
Govern  so  Loyal  and  obedient  a  People  to  His  Sacred 
Majesty,  King  GEORGE,  so  we  most  earnestly  desire 
and  intreat  your  Honour,  to  take  upon  you  the  Govern- 
ment of  this  Province,  in  his  Majesty's  Name,,  'till  his 
Pleasure  shall  be  known;  by  which  Means  we  are  con- 
vinc'd,  that  this,  (at  present)  unfortunate  Colony  may 
flourish,  as  well  as  those  who  feel  the  happy  Influence 
of  his  Majesty's  immediate  Care. 

"  As  the  Well-being  and  Preservation  of  this  Province 
depends  greatly  on  your  Honour's  complying  with  our 
Requests,  so  we  flatter  our  selves,  that  you  who  have 
express'd  so  tender  a  Regard  for  it  on  all  Occasions, 
and  particularly  in  Hazarding  your  own  Person  in  an 
Expedition  against  the  Pirates,  for  its  Defence,  an  Ex- 
ample seldom  found  in  Governors;  so  we  hope.  Sir, 
that  you  will  exert  your  self  at  this  Juncture  for  its  Sup- 
port ;  and  we  promise  your  Honour,  on  our  Parts,  the 
most  faithful  Assistance  of  Persons  duly  sensible  of 
your  Honour's  great  Goodness,  and  big  with  the  Hopes 
and  Expectation  of  his  Majesty's  Protection  and  Coun- 
tenance. 

"  And  we  farther  beg  Leave  to  assure  your  Honour, 
That  we  will  in  the  most  Dutiful  Manner  Address  His 
Most  Sacred  Majesty  King  GEORGE,  for  the  Continu- 
ance of  your  Government  over  us,  under  whom  we 
doubt  not  to  be  a  Happy  People." 


180  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

To  this  the  Governor  return'd  the  following  Answer  : 

Gentlemen^ 
"  I  am  Oblig'd  to  you  for  your  good  Opinion  of  me  ; 
but  I  hold  my  Commission  from  the  true  and  absolute 
Lords  and  Proprietors  of  this  Province,  {a)  who  recom- 
mended me  to  His  Majesty,  and  I  have  His  Approba- 
tion; it  is  by  that  Commission  and  Power  I  Act,  and  I 
know  of  no  Power  or  Authority  can  dispossess  me  of  the 
same,  but  those  only  who  gave  me  those  Authorities. 
In  Subordination  to  them,  I  shall  always  Act,  and  to  my 
utmost  maintain  their  Lordships  just  Powder  and  Prero- 
gatives, without  encroaching  on  the  People's  Rights  and 
Privileges.  I  do  not  expect  or  desire  any  Favour  from 
you,  only  that  of  seriously  taking  into  your  Considera- 
tion the  approaching  Danger  of  a  Foreign  Enemy,  and 
the  Steps  you  are  taking  to  involve  your  selves  and  this 
Province  in  Anarchy  and  Confusion." 

And  now,  they  having  fully  declar'd  what  they  in- 
tended, and  the  Governor  and  his  Council  finding  no- 
thing was  to  be  expected  from  them,  but  to  put  the 
Country  into  the  utmost  Confusion,  he  resolv'd  to  Dis- 
solve them  unmediately ;  and  accordingly,  that  very 
Afternoon,  he  issued  a  Proclamation  to  that  Purpose : 
But  they  order'd  it  to  be  tore  out  of  the  Martial's  Hands, 
and  the  Convention  (as  they  now  call'd  themselves)  is- 
sued a  Proclamation  in  their  own  Names,  which  was  in 
Substance,  To  Order  and  Direct  all  Officers  Civil  and 
Military,  to  hold  their  Offices  and  Employments  until 
farther  Orders  from  them ;  And  finding  Mr.  Johnson 
would  not  come  into  their  Schemes,  they  resolv'd  to 
have  a  Governor  of  their  own  Chusing.  And  accord- 
ingly they  chose  Colonel  Moor,  who  was  Commander 
in  Chief  of  the  Mihtia,  under  and  next  to  the  Governor, 

{a)  This  is  the  Title  the  Charter  gives  them. 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  181 

but  had  been  remov'd  from  bis  Command  some  small 
Time  before,  on  account  of  bis  being  very  warm  in  op- 
posing the  Authority  of  the  Proprietors. 

On  Monday  the  21st  of  December,  1719,  Mr.  Johnson 
came  to  Town  from  his  Plantation,  being  inform'd  they 
design'd  to  Proclaim  their  Governor  in  the  King's  Name, 
and  writ  Circular  Letters  to  his  Council  to  meet  him, 
but  they  did  not  come  ;  he  had  talk'd  to  Colonel  Paris, 
the  Commanding  OjSicer  of  the  Militia  of  the  Town,  and 
engag'd  him  in  his  Interest,  as  he  thought,  and  as  he 
had  order'd  tbe  Town  Companies  to  be  Review'd  the 
21st  of  December,  on  Account  of  the  Advice  he  had  re- 
ceiv'd  from  the  Havanah,  as  before  related ;  and  finding 
they  pitch'd  on  that  Day  to  Proclaim  their  Governor, 
that  they  might  have  the  better  Opportunity  to  draw 
them,  when  together,  in  Arms,  to  forward  their  Purpos- 
es, (for  they  could  not  well  be  in  Arms,  but  by  some 
Authority)  he,  on  the  Saturday  before,  order'd.  That  they 
should  not  Muster,  but  wait  for  farther  Orders  ;  and  had 
given  particular  Orders  to  Colonel  Paris,  That  he  should 
not  suffer  a  Drum  to  beat  in  the  Town;  and  had  Assur- 
ances from  him,  his  Orders  should  be  obey'd :  Notwith- 
standing which,  when  he  came  early  on  the  Monday 
Morning,  he  found  the  Militia  drawn  up  in  the  Market- 
Place,  with  Colours  flying  at  the  Forts,  and  on-board  all 
the  Ships  in  the  Harbour,  and  great  Solemnity  preparing 
for  their  Proclaiming  their  Governor.  It  would  be  tedi- 
ous to  the  Reader,  to  enumerate  all  that  he  did  at  this 
Juncture  to  oppose  their  Proceedings ;  some  he  menac- 
ed, and  handled  more  roughly,  and  some  spoke  fair  to, 
to  perswade  them  from  what  they  were  doing ;  and  go- 
ing to  the  Commanding  Officer,  he  ask'd  him,  how  he 
durst  appear  in  Arms,  contrary  to  his  Orders  1  and  com- 
mandod  him  in  the  King's  Name  to  disperse  his  Men. 


182  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

But  he  answer'd,  He  was  obeying  the  Orders  of  the 
Convention.  And  the  Governor  approaching  him,  he 
commanded  his  Men  to  present  their  Muskets  at  him, 
and  bid  him  stand  off,  at  his  Peril.  Mr.  Johnson  was  in 
hopes  some  Gentlemen  and  others  might  have  joyn'd 
him  ;  but  the  Defection  was  so  general,  that  hardly  a 
Man  but  was  in  Arms ;  and  only  one  of  his  Council 
and  Mr.  John  Lloy^d  walked  with  him ;  and  it  appear'd 
the  latter  of  these  was  sent  under  pretence  of  being  his 
Friend,  by  the  other  Party,  to  prevent  any  hot  action 
he  might  have  been  provok'd  to  do,  for  that  was  his  Bu- 
siness all  the  Day ;  and  Two  Days  afterwards  he  was 
sworn  into  their  New  Council. 

Col.  Rhett,  who  had  always  pretended  to  be  very  Po- 
pular, and  to  have  great  Power  with  the  People,  and  to 
be  extremely  in  the  Interest  of  the  Lord's  Proprietors, 
did  not  appear  in  the  Lords  Behalf  to  assist  Mr.  John- 
son :  And  indeed  this  whole  affair  was  owing  to  his  and 
Mr.  Trotfs  Councels,  who  did,  as  usual  in  such  Cases, 
Leave  their  Masters  in  the  Lurch ;  as  will  appear  by 
their  future  Transactions.  In  short,  they  proceeded  to 
Proclaim  their  Governor,  which  they  did  in  spite  of  all 
the  opposition  Mr.  Johnson  could  give  them ;  which 
could  not  be  much,  he  being,  as  I  have  said,  left  entire- 
ly alone ;  altho'  he  did,  in  their  March,  stop  the  Militia 
that  attended  them,  and  had  almost  perswaded  them  to 
alter  their  Opinion  ;  which  if  he  could  have  effected,  he 
might  have  been  able  to  have  given  a  great  deal  of 
Trouble  to  the  opposite  Party  :  But  Sir  Hovendine 
Walker  was  with  them,  and  put  them  in  mind  to  keep 
up  the  Spirits  of  the  People  ;  which  occasion'd  their 
turning  back  and  Haranguing  their  Men,  who  thereup- 
on marched  on  as  they  formerly  intended. 

Surely,  after  this,  no  one  will  say  but  Mr.  Johnson  did 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  183 

all  that  was  possible  to  prevent  the  Defection  of  the 
People:  And  these  minute  circumstances  we  have 
been  the  more  particular  in,  because  their  Ldrdships 
have  been  made  believe,  that  he  was  himself  in  the 
Design,  and  conniv'd  at  Their  transactions,  which  he 
might  have  prevented  if  he  would.  A  thing  very  im- 
probable, that  he  should  join  with  the  People  to  Divest 
himself  of  his  Government :  and  wheu  he  had  done  so, 
refuse  to  Govern  them  in  their  own  Way  as  they  de- 
sir'd  :  Which,  it  is  plain,  he  might  have  done,  but  that 
he  thought  it  was  inconsistent  with  his  Honour,  and  the 
Trust  repos'd  in  him  by  the  Lords  Proprietors  ;  and  that 
his  so  doing,  might  have  been  resented  by  His  Majesty 
as  a  presumptuous  Act  he  had  no  Authority  for. 

The  People  having  thus  overcome  all  the  little  Oppo- 
sition could  be  made,  proceeded  to  chuse  a  Council  of 
Twelve,  after  the  manner  of  the  King's  Governments  ;  of 
these,  Sir  Hovendine  Walker  was  chosen  President ;  so 
they  had  now  their  Governor,  Council,  and  Convention, 
(as  they  call'd  themselves ;)  but  they  soon  after  voted 
themselves  an  Assembly,  and  as  such,  made  Laws,  ap- 
pointed Officers,  especially  anew  Chief  Justice  in  the 
Place  of  Mr.  Trott,  a  Secretary,  a  Provost-Marshal,  and 
voted.  That  no  one  should  be  capable  of  bearing  an  Of- 
fice in  the  Province  that  own'd  the  Authority  of  the 
Lords  Proprietors,  except  such  as  related  to  their  own 
particular  Revenue,  which  were  Mr.  Rhett  and  Mr. 
Yonge,  their  Receiver  and  Surveyor-General :  they  al- 
so pass'd  a  new  Duty  Law,  and  several  laws  for  raising 
Money  to  defray  the  Expence  of  the  Government,  to  pay 
Agents  whom  they  sent  to  represent  their  Affairs  to  His 
Majesty,  and  for  other  Uses. 

Governor  Johnson  immediately  writ  home  to  the  Lords 
Proprietors,  to  give  them  an  Account  of  what  had  hap- 


184  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

pen'd,  as  he  did  also  to  the  Lords  Commissioners  for 
Trade  and  Plantations,  to  the  following  Effect. 

"  That  the  People  labouring  under  great  Difficulties 
occasion'd  by  the  Debts  contracted  by  the  late  Indian 
War,  and  their  having  receiv'd  Intelligence  of  the  De- 
signs of  the  Spaniards  to  attack  the  Place,  which  is  un- 
happily situated  as  a  Frontier,  not  only  to  them,  but  also 
to  the  French,  who  had  lately  made  a  great  Settlement, 
and  sent  many  people  to  Mississippe,  together  with  the 
Danger  that  continually  threaten'd  them  of  another  In- 
dian War,  and  some  Differences  lately  arisen  between 
the  Lords  Proprietors  and  the  People,  about  their  Pri- 
vileges. 

"  These  Things  had  stirred  up  the  Minds  of  several 
of  the  richest  Inhabitants,  who  had  put  it  into  the  Heads 
of  the  rest,  that  neither  They  nor  their  Proprietors  could 
be  safe  in  their  Persons  or  Estates,  nor  the  Province 
subsist,  without  the  immediate  Protection  of  the  King  ; 
so  that  they  had  with  one  Accord  disclaim'd  all  Obedi- 
ence to  the  Proprietors. 

"  That  he  apprehending  himself  bound  in  Honour  to 
Govern  those  People  in  no  other  Way  than  as  he  was 
Commission'd  by  the  Lords  Proprietors,  and  instructed 
by  his  Majesty,  to  whom  he  had  always  been  a  Faith- 
ful and  Loyal  Subject,  and  the  People  having  for  that 
Cause  disown'd  his  Authority,  with  that  of  the  said 
Lords,  he  humbly  hop'd  their  Lordships  would  interest 
themselves  so  far,  as  that  if  His  Majesty  thought  fit  to 
take  the  Government  into  his  own  Hands,  he  might  be 
honour'd  with  his  Majesty's  immediate  Commission,  or 
otherwise,  that  he  might  be  restor'd  to  his  Government 
as  formerly,  by  his  Majesty's  special  Command ; 
the  present  Disturbances  not  being  in  any  wise  owing 
to  his  Male- Administration,  as  might  appear  by  the  Ad- 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  185 

dress  of  the  People  to  him,  a  copy  of  which  he  inclosed 
them. 

He  also  writ  to  Col.  Rhett,  who  was  Surveyor  and 
Comptroller  of  the  Customs,  as  well  as  the  Lords  Pro- 
prietors Receiver,  to  the  following  Purpose  : 

"  That  the  People  having  found  Means  to  hinder  al- 
most all  the  Masters  of  Ships  from  coming  to  him  with 
their  Clearances,  or  from  Clearing  in  the  Lawful  Secre- 
taries Office,  notwithstanding  the  Laws  of  Trade  made 
such  Neglects  the  Forfeiture  of  Ship  and  Cargo,  and 
that  the  Naval  Officer  by  his  Order,  did  all  he  could  to 
induce  them  to  act  according  to  Law. 

"  And  that  whereas  he  was  sensible  the  Defection 
was  so  general,  and  his  Authority  so  depress'd  by  them, 
that  he  had  no  Power  left  to  punish  them  ;  he  there- 
fore could  think  of  no  other  way  to  oblige  them  to  their 
Duty,  but  by  stopping  their  being  Clear'd  by  the  Cus- 
tom-House  Officers,  until  they  paid  their  Duty  to  him 
as  the  Lawful  Governour  of  the  Province.  He  therefore 
desir'd  that  Col.  Rhett  would  consult  his  Powers  and 
Instructions,  as  Surveyor  and  Comptroller  of  the  Cus- 
toms, and  act  in  this  Affair  as  he  should  think  agreeable 
to  them,  the  Laws  of  Trade,  and  the  Service  of  His  Ma- 
jesty, and  the  Lords  Proprietors,  as  he  was  likewise 
their  Lordships  Officer." 

If  Mr.  Rhett  had  thought  fit  to  have  order'd  this  to 
have  been  done,  according  to  Mr.  Johnson^s  Project,  and 
which  he  would  have  done,  if  he  had  consulted  the 
Lords  Proprietors  Interest,  it  would  have  given  the  Re- 
volutioners  a  great  deal  of  Trouble  :  They  would  have 
seen  their  Authority  disown'd  by  all  the  transient  Peo- 
ple, and  two  Governments  kept  up  in  Opposition  one 
to  the  other.  The  Fees  due  to  the  Governor  and  Se- 
cretary, would  have  gone  in  their  proper  Chanel,  in 

24 


186 


PROCEEDINGS    OF  THE 


spite  of  all  Opposition,  which  were  otherwise  transferr'd 
to  those  which  had  no  Right  to  them ;  and  the  Masters 
of  Ships  would  most  readily  have  gone  where  they 
could  have  had  the  most  authentick  Clearances.  But 
the  Colonel's  Spleen  to  Mr.  Johnson  outweighed  his 
Duty  to  his  Masters ;  and  the  new  Government  was  so 
sensible  of  the  Service  he  did  them  in  refusing  this, 
(that,  contrary  to  their  own  Vote,  that  no  one  should 
bear  an  Office  in  the  Province,  who  own'd  the  Autho- 
rity of  the  Proprietors,)  they  made  him  Overseer  of  the 
Repairs  of  the  Fortifications  m  Charles  Tow7i,  by  which 
he  got  considerably ;  and  he,  at  the  same  time  also, 
accepted  of  a  Commission  from  the  new  Governor  1/oor, 
of  Lieutenant-General  of  the  Militia.  This  might  be 
deem'd  a  Salvo  for  their  Vote,  for  it  was  tacitly  disowning 
the  Proprietors  Authority,  and  owning  theirs  :  But  it  is 
wonderful  he  could  still  keep  his  Credit  with  the  Lords 
Proprietors,  to  whom  he  wrote  on  this  Occasion,  to  as- 
sure them  that  he  accepted  of  that  Commission  from 
Mr.  ikfoof  to  promote  their  Service,  because  it  might  give 
him  an  Opportunity  of  bringing  the  People  again  over 
to  their  Interest :  And  (as  I  am  inform'd)  they  readily 
believ'd  him,  and  sent  him  a  Letter  of  Thanks,  and  a 
Confirmation  of  his  Commission. 

Soon  after  this,  the  New  Government  sent  Home  Col. 
Barnwell,  their  Agent,  to  lay  their  Grievances  before 
His  Majesty,  to  beg  his  Protection,  and  that  he  woul'd 
be  pleas'd  to  take  them  under  His  own  immediate  Go- 
vernment. Much  about  the  same  time,  Mr.  Trottwent 
also  to  England,  and  offer'd  Governor  Johnson  so  to  re- 
present Afi"airs,  that  he  might  have  his  Government  re- 
stor'd  him,  if  he  would  contribute  to  his  Expences. 
Which  he  refusing,  from  thence  may  very  reasonably  be 
attributed  the  Proprietors  Neglect  of  him ;  for  they  never 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  187 

vso  much  as  wrote  him  one  Line,  to  Approve  or  Disap- 
prove of  his  Proceedings  ;  which  shew'd  their  utmost 
Neglect  of  him.  No  equal  Return  for  the  Expence  and 
Fatigue  he  had  been  at  for  their  Service. 

Much  about  this  Time,  there  came  certain  Advice, 
That  the  Spaniards  were  actually  fitting  out  a  Fleet  at 
the  Havana,  to  attack  Providence  and  South-Carolina, 
and  that  it  was  uncertain  which  of  the  two  Places  they 
would  begin  with.  The  New  Government  proclaim'd 
Martial  Law,  and  order'd  all  the  People  to  be  in  Arms 
at  Charles  Town.  Governor  Johnson  took  this  Oppor- 
tunity again,  to  try  to  bring  the  People  to  Reason,  by 
Representing  to  them  the  ill  Consequences  that  might 
attend  their  acting  under  an  unlawful  Authority;  on 
which  Occasion  he  writ  the  following  Letter  to  the 
Convention,  who  had  then  voted  themselves  an  Assem- 
bly. 

Gentlemen, 

"  I  Flatter  my  self,  that  the  Invasion  which  at  present 
threatens  the  Province,  has  awaken'd  a  Thought  in  you, 
of  the  Necessity  there  is  of  the  Forces  acting  under  a 
Lawful  Authority  and  Commission.  The  Inconvenien- 
cies  and  Confusion  of  not  admitting  it,  are  so  obvious,  I 
need  not  mention  them.  I  have  hitherto  born  the  Indig- 
nities put  upon  me,  and  the  Loss  I  sustain  by  being  put 
out  of  my  Government,  w4th  as  much  Temper  as  the 
Nature  of  the  Thing  will  allow  of,  'till  such  time  as  His 
Majesty's  Pleasure  shall  be  known ;  but  to  have  another 
assume  my  Authority,  when  Danger  threatens  the  Pro- 
vince, and  Action  is  expected,  and  to  be  depriv'd  of  the 
Opportunity  of  Serving  the  Publick  in  my  Station,  as  I 
am  indispensably  bound  to  do  upon  such  Occasions,  I 
being  answerable  to  the  King  for  any  Neglect  regarding 


188  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 

the  Welfare  of  the  Province,  is  what  I  cannot  sit  down 
patiently  with. 

Gentlemen, 
"  I  am  willing,  with  my  Council,  to  consult  and  advise 
with  you  for  the  Good  and  Safety  of  the  Province  in 
this  Time  of  imminent  Danger,  as  a  Convention  of  the 
People,  as  you  first  call'd  your  selves.  Nor  do  I  see, 
in  this  present  Juncture  of  Affairs,  any  Occasion  of  For- 
malities in  our  Proceedings,  or  that  I  explain  by  whose 
Authority  I  Act  in  Grants  of  Commissions,  or  other  Pub- 
lick  Orders,  (a)  Mr.  Moofs  Commission  you  have  given 
him,  does  not  pretend  to  say  it  is  deriv'd  from  the  King. 
You  have  already  confess'd,  I  am  invested  with  some 
Authority  you  do  approve  of,  and  that 's  enough. 

"  What  I  insist  upon,  is.  To  be  allow'd  to  Act  as 
Governor,  because  I  am  approv'd  of  by  the  King ;  I  do 
not  apprehend,  at  present,  there  is  a  Necessity  of  Act- 
ing any  Thing  but  what  relates  to  Military  Affairs ;  and 
I  do  believe  People  will  be  better  satisfy'd,  and  more 
ready  to  advance  Necessaries,  to  trust  the  Publick,  and 
to  obey  my  Commands,  (by  Virtue  of  the  King's  Autho- 
rity, which  I  have)  if  left  to  their  Liberty,  than  any 
other  Person  in  the  Province,  and  in  a  short  Time  we 
may  expect  His  Majesty's  Pleasure  will  be  known. 

"  If  my  Reasons  have  not  the  Weight  with  you  I  ex- 
pect they  should,  you  ought  at  least  to  put  it  to  a  Vote ; 
that  if  a  Majority  be  against  it,  I  may  have  that  to  jus- 
tify my  self  to  the  King  and  the  World,  who  ought  to 
be  satisfy'd  that  I  have  done  all  I  can  to  serve  the  Coun- 
try, and  do  my  Duty  in  my  Station." 

The  Convention  did  not  think  fit  to  give  any  Answer 
to  this  Letter,  but  continu'd  their  Sitting,  and  doing  Busi- 

(a)  This  Convention  gave  Mr.  Moor  a  Commission  to  Govern  them. 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  189 

ness  in  the  same  Way  they  had  begun :  But  Sir  Hoven- 
dine  Walker  beinsf  Out-of-Humour  at  some  of  their 
Proceedings,  he  retir'd  to  his  Plantation,  and  they  chose 
Mr.  Richard  Allein  (who  they  had  before  appointed 
Chief  Justice)  President  of  their  Council  in  his  stead. 

They  order'd  the  Fortifications  of  the  Town  to  be  re- 
pair'd ;  which  was  done  in  a  great  Hurry  and  Haste, 
under  the  Inspection  of  Colonel  Rhett,  but  so  slightly, 
that  in  a  very  little  time  they  wanted  as  much  Repairing 
as  ever.  This  necessary  Work  cost  a  great  Sum  of 
Money ;  besides  which,  they  voted  their  Governor  2500/. 
a  Year,  and  their  Chief  Justice  800/.  current  Money  of 
the  Province,  and  transmitted  to  their  Agents  in  Eng- 
land 1000/.  Sterling.  To  defray  all  which  Expences, 
they  pass'd  a  Law  for  laying  a  Tax  on  Lands  and  Ne- 
groes, to  raise  30,000/.  for  the  Service  of  the  current 
Year. 

The  Governor  and  his  Friends  refus'd  to  pay  this 
Tax,  the  Act  not  being  made  by  lawful  Authority ;  but 
they  were  resolv'd  to  be  obey'd,  and  forc'd  every  Body 
(except  Mr.  Johnson)  to  comply,  by  Distraining  on  their 
Negroes,  who  they  took  and  sold  at  publick  Auction,  and 
apply'd  the  Money  to  the  paying  their  Taxes ;  and  thus 
they  were  intirely  fix'd,  both  in  their  Legislative  and 
Executive  Capacity,  in  the  full  Possession  of  the  Go- 
vernment. 

The  w^hole  Country  was  in  Axvas  for  above  a  Fort- 
night, and  several  of  the  Country  Companies  of  the 
Militia  were  drawn  down  to  defend  the  Tow^n ;  there 
being  an  Account,  That  the  Spanish  Fleet  from  the 
Havana  was  actually  sail'd.  But  this  Expedition  of 
theirs,  ended  in  an  Attempt  they  made  on  Providence  ; 
where  they  were  repuls'd  by  Governor  Rogers,  and  lost 


190  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE 

most  of  their  Fleet  by  Storm,  in  endeavouring  to  return 
back  to  their  Port. 

The  S-paniards  Designs  being  frustrated,  and  at  an 
end,  gave  Leisure  to  the  Flamhrough  Man  of  War  to 
come  from  Providence  to  Carolina,  to  her  Station,  when 
the  Commander,  Captain  Hildesleij,  was  courted  by  the 
Contending  Governors,  who  thought  himself  oblig'd  to 
declare  for  Mr.  Johnson.  This,  with  Mr.  Johnson's  or- 
dering the  Secretary  Mr.  Hart  to  keep  from  the  Publick 
Records,  and  the  Clergy's  refusing  to  marry  without 
his  License,  gave  them  no  small  Trouble  ;  and  which, 
with  the  Perswasion  of  him  and  his  Friends,  had  gain'd 
him  (as  he  was  in  hopes)  a  considerable  Party ;  inso- 
much that  he  propos'd,  with  the  Assistance  of  the 
aforesaid  Capt.  Hildesly,  and  Capt.  Pearce,  Commander 
of  His  Majesty's  Ship  the  Ph(Bnix,  who  then  happen'd 
to  come  into  the  Harbour,  to  frighten  them  into  a  com- 
pliance of  Surrendring  to  him  the  Government,  by  a 
Shew  of  their  Men  before  the  Town.  But  they  were 
not  so  to  be  terrfy'd,  they  being  in  a  Town  regularly 
fortify'd,  and  70  Pieces  of  Cannon  mounted  on  their 
Ramparts,  and  near  500  Men  within  it.  So  that  Pro- 
ject was  frustrated,  and  cost  Mr.  Johnson  a  great  deal  of 
Trouble  as  well  as  Expence. 

And  now  Letters  came  from  England,  That  the  Lord's 
Proprietors  h.a.d  sold  their  Charter  to  three  Quakers,  who 
pretended  to  divide  the  Country  into  Shares,  which 
were  to  be  Stock- Jobb'd  in  Exchange- Alley.  This 
again  reviv'd  and  added  Fuel  to  their  old  Animosities  ; 
They  now  became  Outragious,  and  so  Angry,  there  was 
no  composing  them.  What  had  us'd  to  be  said  to  them 
by  the  Friends  of  the  Proprietors,  That  tho'  they  were 
our  Fellow  Subjects,  yet  some  of  them  were  Men  of  the 
best  Quality  in  England,  and   on  that  score  ought   to 


PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  191 

have  a  Deference  shewn  between  them,  was  no  longer 
an  Argument.  The  Lords  Proprietors  were  now  Qua- 
kers, and  might  in  time  be  transferr'd  to  no  Bodj  could 
kiiow  who,  perhaps  the  meanest  of  the  People.  But  this 
Project  was  put  an  End  to,  by  an  Act  of  Parliament  for 
Suppressing  Bubbles,  in  the  Year  1720. 

The  Country's  Agents  procur'd  a  Hearing  before  the 
then  Lords  of  the  Regency  in  Council,  His  Majesty  be- 
ing in  Germany ;  when  their  Excellencies  were  of  opin- 
ion. The  Lords  Proprietors  had  forfeited  their  Charter, 
and  order'd  the  Attorney  General  to  take  out  a  Scire 
facias  against  it.  They  also  appointed  General  Fran- 
cis Nicholson,  Provisional  Governor,  with  His  Majesty's 
Commission.  And  this  put  an  End  to  any  farther  At- 
tempts on  the  Part  of  Mr.  Johnson,  and  was  a  good  Rea- 
son to  perswade  any  of  his  friends  from  joining  with,  or 
Assisting  him  any  farther,  now  that  what  was  done  had 
a  sort  of  a  Sanction  from  the  Government  of  England. 

And  thus  the  Government  became  the  King's,  to  the 
great  Joy  of  the  People  of  that  province,  who,  if  they 
have  acted  (as  it  cannot  be  deny'd  they  have)  in  a  Man- 
ner not  the  most  Legal ;  the  Necessities  of  their  affairs 
must  plead  their  Excuse.  It  plainly  appears,  by  their 
Address  to  Mr.  Johnson,  they  did  it  with  great  Regret 
towards  him,  {a)  whose  Father  had  formerly  done  great 
Services  to  the  Province,  and  they  never  had  a  Governor 
they  lov'd  better.  And  I  believe  it  v/ill  be  thought  that 
the  Lords  Proprietors  gave  them  no  small  Provocations, 
but  made  it  almost  absolutely  Necessary  for  them  to  do 
what  they  did,  since  they  found  there  was  no  other  Way 
of  getting  rid  of  their  Chief  Justice  Trott,  who  had  Ty- 

(a)  The  Country  was  attack'd  by  the  French  and  Spaniards  in  1706, 
when  he  was  Governor ;  and  he  fortified  Charles  Town. 


192      PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  PEOPLE,  ETC. 

raniz'd  over  them  for  many  Years,  and  tho'  often  com- 
plain'd  of,  they  could  never  get  remov'd  :  Which  togeth- 
er with  the  Right  the  Lords  Proprietors  insisted  on,  of 
Repeahng  their  Laws,  the  absokite  Necessity  they  lay 
under  of  the  more  immediate  Assistance  of  the  Crown, 
together  with  their  refusing  to  part  with  their  Lands  ; 
all  these  concurring,  made  them  resolve  to  run  all  Haz- 
ards, to  have  them  remedied. 

To  sum  up  all  therefore,  It  is  most  Humbly  Hoped, 
That  after  the  Charge  the  Crown  has  been  at  in  Protect- 
ing and  Supporting  the  People  of  Carolina,  and  which 
is  the  only  Power  that  can  Protect  them,  (the  End  of  all 
Govermnent)  that  they  will  not  now  again  be  left  destitute 
of  that  Support,  without  which  they  cannot  subsist,  but 
must  abandon  the  Country  the  first  war  that  may  hap- 
pen with  the  Crown  of  Spain,  or  if  their  Indians  should 
think  fit  again  to  Quarrel  with  them.  Their  Defending 
themselves  in  the  last  War  with  the  hidians,  Maintain- 
ing Garisons  in  several  Forts  on  their  Frontiers  ever 
since,  and  erecting  them;  repairing  their  Fortifications 
at  Charles  Town  which  were  destroy'd  by  a  Hurricane, 
and  fitting  out  their  Expeditions  against  the  Pyrates, 
has  put  them  very  greatly  in  Debt,  and  would  make  it 
very  difiicult  for  them  to  defend  themselves  if  the  like 
Occasions  should  again  present 

They  therefore  Pray  for  the  Continuance  of  His  Majes- 
ty's Government,  who,  ever  since  He  has  been 
pleas'dto  take  it  upon  Him,  has  Protected  their  Trade 
by  His  Ships  of  War,  and  their  Country  by  His  Forces, 
and  who  is  always  ready  to  hear  the  Complaints  of 
His  Subjects,  tho'  never  so  remote,  and  is  the  Only 
Power  (under  GOD)  that  is  able  to  Defend  them. 

FINIS. 


A 

DESCRIPTION 


OF 


SOUTH   CAROLINA: 


CONTAINING 


MANY  CUKIOUS  AND  INTERESTING  PARTICULARS 

RELATING  TO  THE 

(HVbil,  Natural  anlr  dtommncial  Jl^istors  of  tgat  ®olon», 

NAMELY, 

THE  SUCCESSION  OF  EUROPEAN  SETTLERS  THERE;  GRANTS  OF  ENGLISH 
CHARTERS  ;  BOUNDARIES  ;  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  ;  TAXKS  ] 
NUMBER  OF  INHABITANTS,  AND  OF  THE  NEIGHBOURING  INDIAN  NATIONS, 
&C.  :  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  CLIMATE  ;  TABULAR  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  ALTI- 
TUDES OF  THE  BAROMETER,  MONTHLY,  FOR  FOUR  YEARS;  OF  THE 
DEPTHS  OF  RAIN,  MONTHLY,  FOR  ELEVEN  YEARS  ;  AND  OF  THE  WIND's 
DIRECTION,  DAILY,  FOR  ONE  YEAR,  &C. 

THE  CULTURE  AND  PRODUCT  OF  RICE,  INDIAN  CORN,  AND  INDIGO  ;  THE 
PROCESS  OF  EXTRACTING  TAR  AND  TURPENTINE;  THE  STATE  OF  THEIR 
BIARITIME  TRAUE  IN  THE  YEARS  1710,  1713,  1723,  1740,  AND  17i8, 
WITH  THE  NUMBER  OF  TONNAGE  OF  SHIPPING  EMPLOYED,  AND  THE 
SPECIES,  O.UANTITIES  AND  VALUES  OF  THEIR  PRODUCT  EXPORTED  IN  ONE 
YEAR,    &C. 

To  which  is  added, 

A  VERY  PARTICULAR  ACCOUNT  OF  THEIR  RICE  TRADE,  FOR  TWENTY  YEARS  , 

"WITH    THEIR    EXPORTS    OF    RAW    SILK,  AND  IMPORTS  OF  BRITISH 

SILK  MANUFACTURES  FOR  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS. 


LONDON: 

PRINTED  FOR  R.  akd  J.  DODSLEY,  IN  PALL  MALL,  176!. 


PREFACE 


The  thing  chiefly  intended  by  this  Description  of  South-Carolina,  is,  to 
give  the  people  of  Great  Britian,  an  Account  of  all  such  matters  and 
things  relating  thereto  as  they  are  most  interested  in  knowbg;  for 
which  purpose,  the  Maritime  trade  of  that  Colony  is  here  traced,  as  far 
back,  as  any  particulars  of  it  could  be  met  with,  relating  to  the  species, 
quantity  or  value  of  their  exports  or  imports  or  to  the  quantity  of  ship- 
ping :  from  whence  this  great  and  national  advantage  will  arise,  that  by 
knowing  at  what  rate  the  trade  of  South-Carolina  hath  increased  within 
forty  years,  from  1710  to  1750  the  surest  judgment  may  be  formed  of 
its  future  increase  :  and  these  facts  may  be  collaterally  useful  by  serving 
as  a  sort  of  scale  to  measure  the  increase  of  trade  in  the  other  British 
Colonies  of  North  America ;  about  which  the  people  of  this  nation  know 
much  less  than  concerns  them. 

After  saying  this,  it  is  unnecessary  to  mention  more  by  way  of  preface 
than  to  acquaint  the  reader  that  every  material  fact  or  circumstance  in 
this  description  is  indexed  under  its  proper  head ;  and  that  such  of  them 
as  depend  upon  time,  or  have  relation  to  others  under  the  same  head  are 
all  arranged  in  such  order  as  date,  place,  or  natural  gradation  seem  to 
require,  leaving  the  miscellaneous  matters  still  the  last :  by  which  means 
the  trouble  of  referingto  and  reading  page  after  page  only  to  know  one 
single  fact  or  circumstance  may  be  all  avoided,  for  every  article  of  pro- 
duct export  and  re-export  is  indexed  and  each  particular  thereof  repeat- 
edly referred  to ;  so  that  if  there  be  ten,  twenty,  or  more  particulars 
mentioned  concerning  any  one  species  of  product,  and  there  are  about 
forty  about  rice,  the  index  will  show  in  what  page  each  of  them  is  to  be 
found,  and  which  species  of  product  are  not  articles  of  trade.* 

*  Owing  to  a  difference  between  the  paging  of  the  original  and  the  copy,  we  have  omitted 
tlie  index. 


CONTENTS. 


SECTION  I. 

The  first  European  settlers  there;  their  expulsion  by  the  natives ; 
England's  prior  right  by  discovery :  Grants  of  English  charters;  Ancient 
and  present  names  and  Boundaries ;  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  princi- 
pal places. 

SECTION  II. 

Quality  of  Land  ;  nature  of  the  soil ;  the  methods  of  cultivating  rice, 
Indian  corn  and  Indigo;  the  Quantities  of  labor  required  for  such  culture ; 
and  the  usual  yearly  crops  per  acre. 

SECTION  III. 

The  nature  of  the  climate ;  uncommon  extremes  of  heat  and  cold; 
Tabular  account  of  the  highest  and  lowest  altitudes  of  the  Baronieter;  of 
the  depth  of  Rain,  and  of  the  Wind's  direction  ;  various  observations 
relating  to  heat,  cold,  vegetation,  &c. ;  and  the  extraordinary  effects 
produced  by  a  severe  frost. 

SECTION  IV. 

The  present  number  of  White  inhabitants;  of  Militia  Forces,  and  of 
negro  Slaves;  late  increase  of  people  by  new  settlers,  and  the  probability 
of  many  thousand  more  being  induced  to  come  and  settle  there. 

SECTION  V. 

The  nature  of  the  constitution  and  government ;  the  principal  officers 
in  each  branch  thereof,  and  by  whom  appointed  and  elected. 

SECTION  VI. 
The  principal  Taxes  laid  for  the  ordinary  and  extraordinary  expenses 
of  the  province,  government,  and  heads  of  expense  whereto  the  moneys 
thereby  raised  commonly  are  appropriated. 


196  CONTENTS. 


SECTION  VII. 

Their  maritime  Trade;  the  number  and  qualities  of  Seamen  and 
shipping  therein  employed ;  the  species  of  merchandize  imported  from 
Great  Britain ;  the  species,  quantities  and  value  of  their  own  produce 
exported  from  thence ;  and  of  imported  merchandize  by  them  re-exported. 

SECTION  VIII. 

The  situation,  strength  and  connections  of  the  several  Indian  Nations 
of  neighbouring  Indians;  the  hostilities  they  have  committed  on  British 
subjects  at  the  instigation  of  the  French ;  and  lately  upon  those  instiga- 
tors themselves ;  some  particulars  relating  to  the  French  forts,  forces 
and  proceedings  in  Louisiana  and  Mississippi. 


DESCRIPTION 

OF 

SOUTH    CAROLINA 


SECTION  I. 


The  first  European  Settlers  there  ;  their  Expulsion  hy  the  Na- 
tives; England's  prior  Right  of  Discovery  ;  Grants  of  Eng- 
lish Charters  ;  ancient  and  present  Names  and  Bounda- 
ries ;  the  Latitudes  and  Longitudes  of  principal  Places. 

South  Carolina  is  a  part  of  that  vast  Tract  of  Land 
which  extends  northward  as  far  as  the  Confines  of  Vir- 
ginia, in  the  Latitude  of  Thirty  six  Degrees  ;  and  South 
ward  as  far  as  the  Bay  of  Mexico. 

The  whole  Extent  was  formerly  called  Florida,  and 
hath  been  successively  possessed  by  the  Spaniards,  the 
French,  and  the  English. 

The  JName  Carolina,  afterwards  given  to  that  Coun- 
try, and  still  retained  by  the  English,  is  generally 
thought  to  have  been  derived  from  Charles  the  Ninth 
of  France  ;  in  whose  reign  Admiral  Coligny  made  some 
settlements  on  the  Florida  Coasts  ;  but  the  French  were 
soon  after  driven  from  thence  by  the  Spaniards,  who  in 
their  turn  were  also  expelled  by  the  Natives. 

From  that  time  the  whole  Country  lay  a  Derelict, 
abandoned  by  the  European  Nations,  till    Charles  the 


198  A    DESCRIPTION  OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Second  of  England,  in  right  of  our  first  discovery  by- 
Sebastian  Cabot,  made  a  grant  thereof  to  the  Earl  of 
Clarendon  and  Seven  other  Proprietors,  by  Charter 
bearing  date  at  Westminster,  the  27th   of  March  1663. 

But  the  Limits  mentioned  in  that  Grant  not  reaching 
so  far  as  our  right  of  Discovery  extended  it  was  thought 
expedient  to  fix  a  boundary  more  conformable  thereto, 
which  w^as  done  by  a  second  Grant  of  the  same  Prince, 
dated  in  June  1665,  and  it  is  by  vertue  of  those  Two 
Grants  so  fomided  upon  our  Right  of  first  Discovery,  as 
also  in  Right  of  several  Purchases  from  the  Princes  and 
Cassiques,  the  original  Inhabitants  of  Florida,  that  the 
English  nation  do  most  justly  possess  such  parts  of  the 
said  Country  as  are  now  know^n  by  the  several  names  of 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

The  part  called  South  Carolina,  is  bounded  on  the 
East  by  the  Atlantic  Ocean ;  on  the  West  by  the  se- 
veral nations  of  Indians;  on  the  north,  by  North  Carolina ; 
and  on  the  South  it  extends  far  beyond  the  southern  lim- 
its of  Georgia,  which  is  bomided  on  that  side  by  the  river 
Alatamaha,  but  this  not  being  so  far  to  the  Southward  as 
the  Limits  prescribed  by  the  before  mentioned  Char- 
ters, nor  even  so  far  as  the  Spaniards  have  at  all  times 
readily  admitted  to  be  our  right,  it  is  evident  that  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  Territory  of  South  Carohna  hes  to 
the  Southward  of  Georgia. 

The  northern  boundary  of  South  Carolina  is  not  so 
well  agreed  upon,  as  might  be  expected  which  is  owing 
to  the  dishonest  intentions  of  many  lawless  People,  set- 
tled in  those  parts  without  legal  Titles,  and  not  to  any 
want  of  attention  in  government,  nor  to  any  difficulty  in 
the  thing  itself ;  but  those  people  by  keeping  up  a  dis- 
pute about  the  boundaries  of  North  and  South  Carohna, 
evade  paying  Quit-rents  for  their  lands,  <Slc  :  and  so  long 


A    DESCRIPTION   OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA.  199 

as  they  can  enjoy  the  protection  of  Government  without 
contributing  their  Quotas  towards  the  expense  of  it,  they 
will  be  keeping  up  the  Dispute  about  Boundaries. 

This  they  have  hitherto  done  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  defeat  the  good  intention  of  all  the  Orders  and  Instruc- 
tions from  time  to  time  given  for  terminating  those  Dis- 
putes and  ascertaining  the  Boundary  :  which,  in  his 
Majesty's  Instructions,  is  directed  to  be  done  by  rimning 
a  line  thirty  Miles  to  the  Southward  of  Cape  Fear  Riv- 
er, parallel  to,  and  observing  the  Coarse  of  that  River  to 
its  Head,  for  the  Boundary  on  that  Side ;  and  though 
this  Order  is  not  only  too  explicit  to  be  mistaken,  but 
hath  been  put  in  Execution,  or  at  least  is  said  to  have 
been  so,  the  good  Intention  of  it  nevertheless  Continues 
to  be  evaded. 

The  Western  Boundary  of  South  Carolina  is  formed 
by  various  Nations  of  Indians,  viz,  the  Catawbaus,  the 
Cherokees,  the  Chickesaws,  the  Creeks,  and  the  Choc- 
taws. 

The  Catawbaus  are  situated  about  Eighty  miles  from 
Saxagotha,  a  new  Township  in  South  Carolina,  and  are 
in  Amity  with  the  British  Government. 

The  Cherokees  form  the  northwestern  Part  of  that 
Boundary  :  their  nearest  Towns  are  Three  hundred  Miles 
from  Charles-Town,  and  they  are  in  Alliance  with  us. 

The  Chickesaws,  Creeks,  and  Choctaws  form  the 
other  part  of  that  western  Boundary. 

The  latitude  of  the  Bar  of  Charles-Town,  the  princi- 
pal port  in  South  Carohna,  by  the  exactest  Observations 
is  32  Degrees  40  Minutes  North,  the  latitude  of  Win- 
yaw,  another  of  the  ports  there,  is ;  and  of  Port 

Royal  is  32  Degrees  5  Minutes  ;  these  three  are  all  the 
Ports  of  Trade  at  present  in  South  Carolina. 

St  Augustine  belonging  to  the  Spaniards,  lies  in  the 


200  A  DESCRIPTION  OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

latitude  of  29  Degrees  50  Minutes.  The  Havana  is  23 
Degrees,  Isle  Dauphine,  or  Massacre,  at  the  Mouth  of 
the  river  Mobile  in  the  bay  of  Mexico,  is  in  the  Latitude 
of  30  Degrees  North.  The  Town  or  Fort  Condea  is 
about  Thirty  miles  due  North  from  the  Mouth  of  the 
River,  these  belong  to  the  French  :  but  Pensacola  on 
the  Isle  St.  Rose  is  Spanish,  and  is  Fourteen  leagues 
due  East  from  the  Isle  of  Dauphine  :  The  other  French 
Settlements  upon  the  Mississippi,  and  in  vi^hat  they  call 
Louisiana  are  all  within  our  Charters. 

The  Longitudes  have  not  been  determined  by  good 
Celestial  Observations  :  but  by  the  best  Correction  are 
as  follows — Charles-Town  Bar  78  Degrees  45  Min- 
utes West  from  the  Meridian  of  London;  Port  Royal 
79  Degrees  5  Minutes  :  and  Winyaw ;  St  Au- 
gustine is  reckoned  79  Degrees  ;  The  Havana ; 

and  Mobile  90  Degrees  3  minutes. 


SECTION   IL 

Q.nality  of  Land  ;  Nature  of  the  iSoil  ;  the  Methods  of  Culti- 
vating Mice,  Indian  Cum,  and  Indigo  ;  the  Quantities  of 
Labour  required  for  such  culture  ;  and  the  usual  Yearly 
Crops  per  Acre. 

The  land  of  South  Carolina  for  a  hundred  and  Fifty 
Miles  back,  is  flat  and  Woody :  intersected  with  many 
large  Rivers,  some  of  which  rise  out  of  the  Cherokee 
Mountains,  and  after  a  winding  course  of  some  hundred 
miles,  discharge  themselves  into  the  sea. 

It  is  remarkable  for  the  diversity  of  its  soil :  that  near 
the  Coast  is  generally  Sandy,  but  not  therefore  unfruit- 
full;  in  other  parts  there  is  Clay,  Loam,  and  Marl.  I 
have  seen  of  the  Soil  of  some  high  Bluffs  near  the  sides 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.       201 

of  Rivers  that  exactly  resemble  Castile  Soap,  and  is  not 
less  variegated  with  red  and  blue  veins,  nor  less  Clamy — 
There  are  dispersed  np  and  down  the  Country  seve- 
ral large  Indian  old  Fields,  which  are  lands  that  have 
been  cleared  by  the  Indians,  and  now  remain  just  as 
they  left  them. 

There  arise  in  many  places  fine  Savannahs  or  wide 
extended  plains,  which  do  not  produce  any  trees  :  these 
are  a  kind  of  natural  Lawns,  and  some  of  them  as  beau- 
tiful as  those  made  by  Art. 

The  Country  abounds  every  where  with  large 
Swamps,  which  when  cleared,  opened  and  sweetened  by 
Culture,  yield  plentiful  crops  of  Rice  :  Along  the  Banks 
of  our  Rivers  and  Creeks,  there  are  also  Swamps  and 
Marshes,  fit  either  for  Rice,  or,  by  the  hardness  of  their 
Bottoms  for  pasturage. 

It  would  open  too  large  a  field  to  enter  very  minutely 
into  the  nature  of  the  soil :  and  I  think  that  this  will  suf- 
ficiently appear  by  the  following  acco  unt  of  what  the 
Labour  of  one  Negroe  employed  on  our  best  Lands  will 
annually  produce  in  Rice,  Corn,  and  Indigo.  The  best 
land  for  Rice  is  a  wet,  deep,  miry  Soil :  such  as  is  gene- 
rally to  be  found  in  Cypress  Swamps  ;  or  a  black  greasy 
Mould  with  a  Clay  foundation;  but  the  very  best 
lands  may  be  meliorated  by  laying  them  under  water  at 
proper  seasons. 

Good  Crops  are  produced  even  the  first  year,  when  the 
surface  of  the  Earth  appears  in  some  degree  covered  with 
the  Trunks  and  branches  of  Trees  :  the  proper  Months  for 
sowing  R:  ce,  are  March,  April,  and  May  :  the  method  is 
to  plant  it  in  Trenches,  or  Rows  made  with  a  hoe,  about 
three  Inches  deep  ;  the  Land  must  be  pretty  clear  from 
Weeds  ;  and  at  the  latter  end  of  August  or  the  Begin- 
ning of  September,  it  will  be  fit  to  be  reaped. 

26 


202  A    DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Rice  is  not  the  Worse  for  being  a  little  green  when 
cut,  they  let  it  remain  on  the  stubble  till  dry,  which  will 
be  in  about  tAvo  or  three  days,  if  the  Weather  be  favor- 
able, and  then  they  house  or  put  it  in  large  stacks. 

Afterwards  it  is  threshed  with  a  flail,  and  then  win- 
nowed; which  was  formerly  a  very  tedious  operation, 
but  it  is  now  performed  with  greater  ease,  by  a  very  sim- 
ple machine,  a  Wind  Fan,  but  lately  used  here,  and  a 
prodigous  Improvement. 

The  next  part  of  the  process  is  giinding  which  is  done 
in  small  mills  made  of  wood,  of  about  two  feet  in  dia- 
meter ;  it  is  then  winnowed  again  and  afterwards  put  into 
a  Mortar  made  of  Wood,^sufficient  to  contain  from  Half  a 
Bushel  to  a  Bushel,  when  it  is  beat  with  a  Pestle  of  a 
Size  suitable  to  the  Mortar  and  to  the  Strength  of  the 
Person  who  is  to  pound  it ;  this  is  done  to  free  the  Rice 
from  a  Thick  Skin,  and  is  the  most  laborious  Part  of  the 
Work.  It  is  then  sifted  from  the  Flour  and  Dust,  made 
by  the  pounding ;  and  afterwards  by  a  Wire-sieve,  called 
a  Market-sieve,  it  is  separated  from  the  broken  and  small 
Rice,  which  fits  it  for  the  Barrells,  in  which  it  is  carried 
to  Market. 

They  reckon  thirty  Slaves  a  proper  number  for  a 
Rice  Plantation,  and  to  be  tended  with  one  Overseer ; 
these  in  favourable  Seasons  and  on  good  Land,  wall  pro- 
duce a  surprising  quantity  of  Rice ;  but  that  I  may  not  be 
blamed  by  those,  who  being  induced  to  come  here  on  such 
favourable  accounts,  and  may  not  reap  so  great  a  harvest ; 
and  that  I  may  not  mislead  any  person  whatever,  I 
choose  rather  to  mention  the  common  computation, 
throughout  the  Province,  Communibus  Annis :  which 
is,  that  each  good  working  hand  employed  in  a  Rice 
Plantation  makes  Four  barrels  and  a  half  of  Rice,  each 
Barrel  weighing  Five  Hundred  Pounds  neat ;  Besides  a 


A  DESCEIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  203 

sufficient  Quantity  of  Provisions,  of  all  Kinds  for  the 
Slaves,  Horses,  Cattle,  and  Poultry,  of  the  Plantation, 
for  the  ensuing  Year.  Rice  last  Year  bore  a  good 
price,  being  at  a  medium  about  Forty-five  Shillings  our 
Currency  per  Hundred  Weight ;  and  all  this  Year  it 
hath  been  Fifty-five  Shillings  and  Three  pounds ;  though 
not  many  years  ago  it  was  sold  at  such  lov^^  prices,  as 
Ten  and  Twelve  Shillings  per  Hundred. 

Indian  Corn  delights  in  high  loose  Land,  it  does  not 
agree  with  Clay,  and  is  killed  by  much  Wet;  it  is 
generally  planted  in  Ridges,  made  by  the  Plow  or  Hoe, 
and  in  Holes  about  six  or  eight  feet  from  each  other ; 
it  requires  to  be  kept  free  from  weeds,  and  will  produce, 
according  to  the  goodness  of  the  Land,  from  fifteen  to 
fifty  Bushels  an  Acre  :  Some  extraordinary  rich  Land, 
in  good  Seasons,  will  yield  Eighty  Bushels  :  But  the 
common  Computation  is,  that  a  Negro  will  tend  Six 
Acres,  and  that  each  Acre  will  produce  from  Ten  to 
Thirty-five  Bushels ;  it  sells  generally  for  about  Ten 
Shillings  Currency  a  Bushel,  but  is  at  present  Fifteen. 

Indigo  is  of  several  Sorts ;  what  we  have  gone  mostly 
upon,  is  the  Sort  generally  cultivated  in  the  Sugar 
Islands,  which  requires  a  high,  loose  Soil,  tolerably 
rich,  and  is  an  Annual  Plant ;  but  the  nilco  Sort,  which 
is  common  in  this  Country,  is  much  more  hardy  and 
luxuriant,  and  is  Perennial;  its  Stalk  dies  every  Year, 
but  it  shoots  up  again  next  Spring :  the  Indigo  made 
from  it  is  of  as  good  a  Quality  as  the  other,  and  it  will 
grow  on  very  indifferent  Land,  provided  it  be  dry  and 
loose. 

An  Acre  of  good  Land  may  produce  about  Eighty 
Pounds  Weight  of  good  Indigo ;  and  one  Slave  may 
manage  Two  Acres  and  upwards,  and  raise  Provisions 
besides,  and  have  all  the  Winter  Months  to  saw  Lum- 


204  A  DESCRIPTION   OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

ber  and  be  otherwise  employed  in;  but  as  much  of  the 
Land  hitherto  used  for  Indigo  is  improper,  I  am  per- 
suaded that  not  above  Thirty  Pounds  Weight  of  good 
Indigo  per  Acre,  can  be  expected  from  the  Land  at  pre- 
sent cultivated.  Perhaps  we  are  not  conversant  enough 
in  this  Commodity,  either  in  the  Culture  of  the  Plant, 
or  in  the  Method  of  managing  or  manufacturing  it,  to  write 
with  certamty. 

I  am  afraid  that  the  Lime-water  that  some  use  to 
make  the  Particles  subside,  contrary,  as  I  have  been 
informed,  to  the  practice  of  the  French,  is  prejudicial  to 
it,  by  precipitating  different  Kinds  of  Particles :  and 
consequently  incorporating  them  v/ith  the  Indigo. 

But  I  cannot  leave  this  subject  v^thout  observing  how 
conveniently  and  profitable,  as  to  the  charge  of  Labour, 
both  Indigo  and  Rice  may  be  managed  by  the  same 
Persons,  for  the  Labour  attending  Indigo  being  over  in 
the  Summer  Months,  those  who  were  employed  in  it 
may  afterwards  manufacture  Rice  in  the  ensuing  Part  of 
the  Year,  when  it  becomes  most  laborious ;  and  after 
doing  all  this,  they  will  have  some  Time  to  spare  for 
sawing  Lumber  and  making  Hogsheads,  and  other 
Staves,  to  supply  the  Sugar  Colonies. 

This  Colony  abounds  in  many  other  usefull  Produc- 
tions, of  which  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  give  a  very 
particular  Account;  but  such  of  them  as  there  is  a 
Demand  for  in  other  Countries,  are  all  specified  in  my 
Account  of  the  exports  of  Charles-Town  herewith  trans- 
mitted. I  have  also  mentioned  the  Quantity  of  each 
Species  so  exported,  and  the  price  it  bore  with  us  at 
the  Time ;  the  knowledge  of  which  two  Particulars,  in 
relation  to  each  Sort,  will,  I  believe,  be  more  satisfac- 
tory in  a  National  Sense,  than  any  thing  else  that  could 
be  said  about  them. 


A  DESCRIPTION   OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  205 

I  must  therefore  beg  leave  to  refer  to  the  said  Ac- 
count, and  shall  conclude  this  Head  with  observing, 
that  hitherto  there  have  not  been  any  Mines  discovered 
in  the  Province. 


SECTION  III. 

The  Nature  of  the  Climate  ;  uncommon  extremes  of  Heat  and 
Cold  ;  Tabular  Accounts  of  the  highest  and  lowest  Altitudes 
of  the  Barometer ;  of  the  Depths  of  Rain,  and  of  the 
Wind^s  Direction  ;  various  Observations  relating  to  Heat, 
Cold,  Vegitation,  6^c.  and  the  extraordinary  Effects  pro- 
duced by  a  severe  Frost. 

Our  Climate  is  various  and  uncertain,  to  such  an  ex- 
traordinary Degree,  that  I  fear  not  to  aflSrm,  there  are  no 
People  on  Earth,  who,  I  think,  can  suffer  greater  ex- 
treames  of  Heat  and  Cold ;  it  is  happy  for  us  that  they 
are  not  of  long  duration. 

No  Idea  of  either  the  one  or  the  other  can  be  formed 
from  our  Latitude,  which,  on  other  Continents,  is  found 
to  be  very  desirable  ;  nor  dare  I  to  trace,  by  any  physical 
reasoning,  the  Causes  of  these  extremes  ;  lest  I  should 
amuse  with  vain  Conjectures,  those  to  whom  I  would 
not  write  any  thing  but  Truth.  I  shall  therefore  content 
myself  with  setting  down  what  we  are  sure  of  by  Ex- 
periments. 

In  Summer  the  Thermometer  hath  been  known  to 
rise  to  98  Degrees,  and  in  Winter  to  fall  to  10  Degrees. 
I  had  for  some  time  kept  a  Diary  of  the  Weather,  to 
please  myself  only — But  having  met  with  a  Gentleman, 
who  is  curious  in  my  own  Way,  and  who  hath  done  it 
with  more  Accuracy  than  the  little  Portions  of  Time 
stolen  from  the  Duties  of  my  Station  would  permit  me 


206  A  DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

to  do,  I  shall  here  give  you  his  Tables,  which  are  the 
result  of  Four  Years'  Barometrical  Observations,  taken 
Twice  a  Day,  viz.  at  Noon  and  at  Night.  And  of  Four 
Years'  Thermometrical  Observations  by  Farenheit's 
Thermometer ;  and  also  his  Account  of  the  Depths  of 
Rain  which  have  fallen  in  Charles-Town  within  each 
Month  and  Year,  for  Eleven  Years  past;  together  with 
a  Table  of  the  Winds. 


TABLES 

Of  the  Highest  and  Lowest  Altitudes  of  the  Barometer  at 

Charles  Town,  in  South  Carolina,  loithin  each  month  of 

the  years  1737  to  1740  ; 

AND  ALSO, 

The  Several  Directions  which  the  Wind  had  at  the  Times  of 
these  Altitudes. 


EXPL  ANATIO  N  S. 

Where  a  *  is  annexed  to  the  Wind's  Direction,  it  is  to  be  understood 
that  a  North  or  East  Wind  preceded  or  succeeded.  And  where  a  |  is 
so  annexed,  it  is  to  denote  that  a  West  or  South  Wind  blew  befoz-e  or 
after. 


No.   I.— IN    THE   YEAR    1737 


MONTHS. 

The  Greatest 
Altitudes. 

wind's 
direction 

The  least 
Altitudes. 

wind's 
direction 

Inches 

100  pails 

inches 

100  parts 

January,  .  .  . 
February,    .  . 

March,  .... 
April,     .... 

May, 

June, 







30 
30 
30 

42 
23 

20 

E. 
N.E. 
N.E. 

29 
29 
29 

48 
85 
85 

w. 
s. 
w. 

July, 

30 

13 

S.S.W.^ 

29 

83 

s.w. 

August,    .  .  . 

30 

18 

E. 

29 

88 

s.w. 

September,    . 
October,  .  .  . 

30 
30 

33 
33 

N.N.E. 
E. 

29 
29 

85 
83 

S.E. 
W.N.W. 

November,.  . 
December,  .  . 

30 
30 

58 
60 

N. 
N. 

29 
29 

72 
93 

S. 

w. 

208 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


No.   II.  — IN   THE   YEAR    1738 


The  Greatest 

wind's 

The  least 

wind's 

MONTHS. 

Altitudes. 

DIRECTION 

Altitudes. 

DIRECTION 

Inches 

100  parts 

Inches 

100  parts 

January,  .  .  . 

30 

48 

N. 

29 

88 

s.w. 

February,    .  . 

30 

38 

N.E. 

29 

68 

s. 

March,  .... 

30 

26 

S.E. 

29 

58 

s. 

April, 

30 

33 

W.^ 

29 

78 

w.s.w. 

May, 

30 

35 

E. 

29 

30 

w. 

June, 

30 

30 

E. 

29 

98 

s.w. 

July, 

30 

38 

E. 

30 

00 

s.w. 

August,    .  .  . 

30 

38 

N.E. 

29 

98 

s.w. 

September,    . 

30 

38 

E. 

29 

88 

N.W. 

October,  .  .  . 

30 

45 

E. 

29 

68 

w. 

November, .  . 

30 

35 

N.E. 

29 

58 

w. 

December,  .  . 

30 

58 

N. 

29 

75 

N.N.W.t 

No.    III.  — IN    THE   YEAR    1739 


The  Gnsatest 

wind's 

The  least 

wind's 

MONTHS. 

Altitudes. 

DIRECTION 

Altitudes. 

direction 

Inches 

100  parts 

Inches  100  parts 

January,  .  .  . 

30 

70 

N. 

29 

50 

N.W.J 

February,    .  . 

30 

55 

N. 

29 

85 

w. 

March,  .... 

30 

50 

S.E. 

29 

65 

w. 

April, 

30 

32 

E. 

29 

75 

m 

May, 

30 

28 

E. 

29 

85 

s. 

June, 

30 

18 

S.^ 

29 

86 

s. 

July, 

30 

8 

S.S.E.^ 

29 

85 

s.s.w. 

August,.  .  .  . 

30 

26 

E. 

29 

85 

w. 

September,    . 

30 

28 

N.E. 

29 

85 

N.E.t 

October,  .  .  . 

30 

32 

N.N.E. 

29 

72 

s.w. 

November,     . 

30 

51 

N. 

29 

72 

S. 

December,  .  . 

30 

60 

E.N.E. 

29 

86 

S.W. 

A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 


209 


No.    lY.  — IN    THE    YEAR    1740. 


MONTHS. 

The  Greatest 
Altitudes. 

wind's 
direction 

The  least 
Altitude. 

wind's 
direction 

tt 

Inches 

lOOparts 

Inches 

lOOpaits 

January,  . 

30 

46 

N.N.E. 

29 

76 

w. 

83 

February, 

30 

54 

N.N.E. 

29 

72 

w.s.w. 

74 

March, .  . 

30 

40 

E.N.E. 

29 

60 

w. 

78 

April,    .  . 

30 

48 

E. 

29 

68 

w. 

75 

May,  .  .  . 

30 

30 

S^ 

29 

90 

s.s.w. 

44 

June,     .  . 

30 

28 

E.S.E. 

29 

90 

N.E.t 

34 

July,      .  . 

30 

22 

W. 

29 

98 

s.w. 

29 

August,    . 

30 

25 

N.E. 

29 

95 

N. 

37 

September 

30 

36 

N.E. 

29 

86 

s. 

48 

October,  . 

30 

50 

N. 

29 

95 

w. 

61 

November, 

30 

55 

N.N.W. 

29 

73 

s.w. 

81 

December, 

30 

58 

N.N.E. 

29 

65 

W.N.W. 

79 

■fl  The  Barometer's  mean  Range. 


The  greatest  Height  of  the  Mercury  in  the  Barometer 
in  this  Province  is  30:70  Inches  :  its  least  Height  is  29: 
48  Inches  :  and  for  these  Twelve  years  last  past,  all  the 
variations  of  the  Barometer  have  been  confined  between 
these  two  extremes.  Therefore,  its  Range  in  this  Pro- 
vince, being  1:22  Inch,  our  Atmosphere  varies  only  2V 
[one  twenty-fifth]  Part  of  its  Whole  Weight,  and  in  the 
warm  months  I  have  never  seen  the  Range  of  the  Ba- 
rometer exceed  tA  [fifty-eighth  Hundredth]  parts  of  an 
Inch. 

The  mean  Barometrical  Station,  taken  from  its  great- 
est and  least  Heigts  is  30:09  Inches. 

Our  Easterly  and  Northerly  Winds  elevate  the  Mer- 
cury in  the  Barometer:  and  by  Southerly  and  Westerly 
Winds  the  Mercury  subsides. 

27 


210      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

The  Weather,  perhaps,  is  no  where  more  variable — • 
with  respect  to  Heat  than  in  Carohna ;  The  changes 
are  frequent,  sudden  and  great,  but  the  Decreases  of 
Heat  are  always  greater  and  more  sudden  than  its  In- 
creases. 

The  greatest  Incalescences  of  the  Air  which,  in  the 
course  of  Eight  Years'  Observation,  I  have  known  to 
take  Place,  in  Twenty-four  or  Thirty  Hours,  were,  19 
Degrees  in  the  Spring,  24  in  the  Summer,  13  in  Au- 
tumn, and  16  in  the  Winter. 

Whereas  the  greatest  Decrease  of  Heat  in  twenty- 
four  or  thirty  Hours,  were  35  Degrees  in  the  Spring, 
32  in  the  Summer,  27  in  Autumn,  and  44  in  the  Winter, 
and  it  frequently  happens  one  Day  is  10  or  more  De- 
grees colder  or  warmer  than  the  preceding  Day.  On 
the  tenth  of  January,  1745,  at  Two  o'th'  Clock  in  the 
Afternoon,  the  Thermometer  was  at  70  Degrees ;  but 
the  next  Morning  it  was  only  at  15  Degrees,  which 
was  the  greatest  and  most  sudden  change  that  I  have 
seen. 

In  Summer,  the  Heat  of  the  shaded  Air,  at  two  or 
three  o'Clock  in  the  Afternoon,  is  frequently  between 
90  and  95  Degrees,  but  such  extreames  of  Heat  beuig 
soon  productive  of  Thunder  Showers,  are  not  of  long 
duration. 

On  the  14th,  15th,  and  16th  of  June,  1738,  at  Three 
o'  th'  Clock  in  the  Afternoon,  the  Thermometer  was  at 
98  Degrees  ;  a  Heat  equal  to  the  greatest  Heat  of  the 
Human  Body  in  health.  I  then  applied  a  Thermometer 
to  my  Arm-pits,  and  it  sunk  one  Degree,  but  in  my 
Mouth  and  Hands  it  continued  at  98  Degrees. 

In  my  Table  of  Thermometrical  Observ^ations,  2o 
Degrees  is  the  lowest  Station  of  the  Thermometer ;  but 
since  the  Time  for  which  that  Table  was  formed,  I  have 


A  DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  211 

frequently  seen  the  Thermometer  mucli  lower :  Particu- 
larly on  the  6th  of  February,  1747,  at  8  o'  th'  Clock  in 
.the  Morning,  it  was  at  the  tenth  Degree,  and  no  doubt 
had  been  lower  some  hours  before  that,  as  the  Spirits  in 
the  Thermometer  were  then  rising,  the  Air  being  warm- 
ed by  the  Sun. 

The  Difference  therefore  between  the  most  intense 
Heat  and  Cold  of  the  shaded  Air  in  this  Province  is 
Eighty-eight  Degrees,  which  is  a  much  greater  Range 
than  could  well  have  been  expected  in  this  Latitude. 

If  the  mean  is  taken  between  these  Extreames  of 
Heat  and  Cold,  Fifty-four  Degrees  should  be  the  tem- 
perate heat  of  this  Province — but  the  Sum  of  the  Ther- 
mometrical  Stations  divided  by  the  Number  of  Observa- 
tions which  I  have  made,  for  some  Years  together,  gives 
65  and  a  half  Degrees,  which  may  therefore  more 
justly  be  called  the  Temperate  Heat  in  Carolina, 
which  exceeds  48  Degrees,  the  Temperate  Heat  in 
England,  more  than  that  exceeds  32  Degrees  the  freez- 
ing" Point. 

The  mean  Heat  of  the  shaded  Air  taken  from  the 
mean  Nocturnal  Heat  and  from  the  Mean  Heat,  at  two  or 
three  o'Clock  ui  the  Afternoon,  during  the  Four  Seasons 
of  the  Year,  is  as  folio  weth:  In  Spring,  61  Degrees,  in 
Summer,  78,  inAutumn  71,  and  in  Winter  52. 

The  mean  Heat  of  the  shaded  Air,  at  two  or  three 
o'th'  Clock  in  the  Afternoon,  is  65  Degrees  in  the 
Spring,  82  in  the  Summer,  75  in  Autumn,  and  55  in 
Winter. 

The  mean  Nocturnal  Heat  in  those  Seasons  is, 
57  Degrees  in  the  Spring,  74  in  Summer,  68  in  Au- 
tumn, and  49  in  the  Winter.  Therefore  our  Winter's 
mean  Nocturnal  Heat,  ^exceeds  the  temperate  heat  in 
England. 


212      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

As  the  Weather  here  is  generally  very  serene  the 
Sun's  Rays  exert  more  constantly  their  full  Force  ;  and 
therefore  when  we  are  abroad  and  exposed  to  the  Sun, 
we  are  acted  upon  by  a  much  greater  Degree  of  Heat, 
than  that  of  the  shaded  Air ;  for  the  Thermometer  when 
suspended  Five  Feet  from  the  Ground,  and  exposed  to 
the  Sun,  and  the  reflected  Rays  from  our  Sandy  Streets 
hath  frequently  risen  in  a  few  Minutes  from  15  to  26 
Degrees  above  what  were  at  those  times  the  Degrees 
of  Heat  in  the  shaded  Air. 

But  I  have  never  yet  made  that  Experiment  when  the 
Heat  of  the  shaded  Air  was  above  88  Degrees ;  when 
therefore  we  are  in  the  Streets  in  a  serene  Day  tn  the 
Summer,  the  Air  we  walk  in  and  inspire  is  many  De- 
grees hotter  than  that  of  the  Human  Blood : — for  sup- 
posing the  Heat  of  the  shaded  Air  to  be  88  Degrees, 
when  the  Thermometer  would  rise  26  Degrees  higher, 
if  suspended  and  exposed  to  the  Sun,  &c.  as  before 
mentioned  ;  or  suppose  that  the  Heat  of  the  shaded  Air 
be  98  Degrees,  when  the  Thermometer  would  rise  26 
Degrees  higher  by  such  Suspension  and  Exposure  ;  in 
the  first  of  those  Two  Cases,  the  Heat  of  the  Air  in 
the  Streets  would  exceed  98,  the  natural  Heat  of  the 
Human  Blood,  by  Sixteen  Degrees  ;  and  in  the  last 
Case  it  would  exceed  such  Heat  by  twenty-six  Degrees. 


TABLES 

Of  the  Depths  of  Rain,  which  fell  at  Charles-  Toion  hi  South 
Carolina,  within  Eleven  Years  from  1738  to  1748  ;  Shewing 
the  Depth  that  fell  in  each  Month,  in  each  Season^  and,  in 
each  Year  ;  Also,  The  general  Medium  Depths  taken  ujjon 
all  those  Eleven  Years,  for  each  Month,  for  each  Season, 
and  for  a  Year. 

THE  WHOLE  IS  EXPRESSED  IN  INCHES  AND  MILLESIMAL  PARTS  OF 

INCHES. 


No.  v.— FOR  THE  YEARS  1738,  1739,  1740. 


In  what  Times  each  Month. 

Inches  &  Millesimal 

Inches  &  Millesimal 

Inches  &  Millesimal 

parts. 

parts. 

parts. 

January,      .     .     . 

1.097 

2.310 

4.873 

February,    .     .     . 

4.41o 

2.875 

3.084 

March,    .... 

4  532 

5.609 

1.141 

April,      .... 

1.082 

0.195 

1.092 

May,       .... 

3.127 

5.120 

5.612 

June,      .... 

1.567 

J  5.839 

4.648 

July,       .... 

10.660 

5.452 

3.013 

August,  .... 

4.104 

12.21L 

7.301 

September,  .     .     . 

10.792 

4.834 

3.200 

October,       .     .     . 

1.358 

6.593 

1.258 

November,  .     .     . 

2.656 

1.235 

1.848 

December,   .     .     . 

3.877 

3.689 

2.736 

JSach  Season. 

Spring,    .... 

10.330 

8.679 

5.317 

Summer,     .     .     . 

15.054 

26.411 

13.273 

Autumn,     .     .     . 

16.254 

23.638 

11.759 

Winter,  .... 

7.630 

7.234 

9.457 

Each  year,  .     .     . 

49.263 

65.962 

39.806 

214      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

No.   YI.— FOR   THE  YEARS  1741,  1742,  1743. 


In  what  Times  each  Month. 

Inches  &  Millesimal 

Inches  &  Millesimal 

Inches  &  Millesimal 

parts. 

parts. 

parts. 

January,      .     .     . 

4.492 

2.189 

3.172 

February,    .     .     . 

4.615 

1..550 

2.436 

Maich,    .... 

5.713 

5.203 

0.621 

April,      .... 

1.308 

0.918 

5.292 

May,       .... 

4841 

5.878 

2  535 

June,      .... 

5.538 

3.250 

1.903 

Julv, 

3.399 

1.252 

7.738 

August,  .... 

7.  J  44 

7.647 

3.767 

September,  .     .     . 

6.734 

2.895 

4.686 

October,  .... 

3399 

0.759 

1.672 

November,  .     .     . 

2.964 

3.388 

3.220 

December,    .     .     . 

1.9J9 

0.957 

2.706 

Each  Season. 

Spring,    .... 

11.636 

7.771 

8.348 

Summer,      .     .     . 

13.778 

10.400 

12.176 

Autumn,      .     .     . 

17.277 

11.301 

10.125 

Winter,  .... 

9.375 

6.534 

9.(198 

Each  year,  .     .     . 

52.066 

36  006 

39.747 

No.   YII.— FOR   THE   YEARS   1744,   1745,   1746. 

In  what  Times  each  Month. 

Inches  &  Millesimal 

Inches  &  Millesimal 

Inches  &  Mille  simal 

parts. 

parts. 

parts. 

January, .... 

1.994 

0.863 

1.144 

February,     .     .     . 

3.063 

7.739 

2.701 

March,     .... 

0.532 

3.229 

1.628 

April,       .... 

2.866 

3.842 

1.128 

May, 

8.871 

1.832 

3.988 

June, 

5.814 

9  510 

4.109 

July, 

8.437 

6.772 

9.895 

August,    .... 

4.202 

9.339 

6.114 

September,    .     .     . 

5.657 

0.754 

0.932 

October,  .... 

1.595 

2.962 

0.506 

November,    .     .     . 

1.562 

0.682 

3.586 

December,    .     .     . 

9.680 

2.623 

3.916 

Each  Season. 

Spring,     .... 

6.511 

14.810 

5.475 

Summer,      .     .     . 

17.122 

18.113 

17.992 

Autumn,      ,     .     . 

11.454 

13.055 

7.552 

Winter,    .... 

13.236 

4.168 

8.646 

Each  year,   .     .     . 

48.323 

50.146 

39.653 

A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 


215 


No.  YIII.— FOR  THE  YEARS  1747,  1748. 


In  what  Times  each  Month. 

Inches  &  Millesimal 

Inches  &  Millesimal 

General  mediums. 
Inches  &  Millesimal 

parts. 

parts. 

parts. 

January,      .     .     . 

3  429 

2.212 

2.516 

February,    .     .     . 

2.860 

1.573 

3.365 

March,   .... 

2.585 

3.047 

3.081 

April,      .... 

0.292 

0.979 

1.727 

May,       .... 

0.924 

1.826 

3.507 

June,      .... 

2.470 

1.859 

5.137 

July,       .... 

6.413 

9.273 

6.. 573 

August,  .... 

4.895 

6.8S1 

6.691 

September,  .     .     . 

7.216 

7.442 

5.013 

October, .... 

9.504 

5.550 

3.196 

November,  .     .     . 

1.056 

5.368 

2.506 

December,  .     .     . 

2.921 

5.588 

3.692 

Each  Season. 

Spring,   .... 

5.737 

5.599 

8.082 

Summer,     .     .     , 

9.807 

12.958 

15.217 

Autumn,      .     .     , 

21.615 

19.873 

14.900 

Winter,       .     .     . 

7.406 

13.068 

8.714 

Each  year,  .     .     . 

44.565 

51.498 

46.912 

216 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF   SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


This  Table  of  the 
Wind's   Direction 
is   for    one    year, 
nnring  which  three 
Observations  were 
made  almost  every 
day  :     viz.   in   the 
Morning,  at  two  o' 
th'  clock  in  the  Af- 
ternoon, &  at  Bed 
time.    The  Nume- 
rical Figures  in  the 
Colums,  for  each 
Month,  Season,  or 
whole  Year,  shew 
how  many  Times 
within    each,     re- 
spectively,         the 
wind,  at  the  hours 

of       Observation, 
blew    from    those 
Points  of  the  Com- 
pass which  are  ex- 
pressed by  the  In- 
itial Letter  there- 
of,   and    severally 
placed  on  the  same 

lines  as   the    Nu- 
merical     Figures 
whereunto       they 
belong. 

TOTAL  ^0.  OF  TIMES 
IN  THK 

3  T  0  H  AV 

CO  VD  .C  l:^  GQ  -O  t^ 
00  CO  ir^  iC  CO  GQ  rH 

i^  >0  ^  CQ 

CO  GO  lO  O 

CO  O  GO  cvf  O 
CO  U5  —  CO  O 

tH 

•uiun^ny 
••-lauiLung 
Sui.idg 

16  34  29     7 
12  13   14     7 
18  36  11   10 
10  24  14     9 
30  49  19  37 
8  15     3 
3     7     5 

11     7   14     5 
19  19  23  24 
21     9  10  14 

17  15  18     2 

15  10  13  28 
13    4  13  19 

6     2    3    7 
8     6  10     8 

16  8  47  29 

f 

' 

■^  CO  ■^  GQ  — *  CO 

rH  tH  GO  r-H 
1—1 

T-H  CO  CO 
CO  1^  CO  i-H 

4  18    6 

3  11     5 

4  2     1 
1     4    3 

14    9    6 

2^ 

A.IBnu'Bf 

••jaqraaD9Q 
••.i8qra9A0X[ 

T— ( 

CO  ''^  ''^f 

r— 1 

CO  '^  CO  CO  GQ 

< 

i 

CO  GQ  •^  GO  O  CO  GQ 

T-l. 

Cn  rH  1-i  "^  CQ  GO  GQ 

T— 1 

i>.  rH  CO  GQ  l^  T-H  CQ 

6  5     3 
13     8     2 

7  2     1 
10     6    2 

3     19 
3     2    9 
1          2 
3     5    2 
11  12  24 

j9qopQ 

•jaqraa;d9g 

jsnSny 

A"r 

18  10     6 

2  5  6 
10  18  8 
119     4 

8     9  29 

4    4 

4     1     2 

2    3     2 

5     8    6 
2    2     5 
4  10     1 

in  CO      th  CQ 

1-H             CQ  ■«* 
"^  1-HCQ  COCQ 

"••■"  auni" 

M\: 

6 

r 

n-'dv 

2    3  11 
13     8 
7     6     5 
1     3     6 
6  14  10 

2     3 

3     5     3 

8     6     5 
12    7    2 

7     9     1 

ir.  CO  rH           rH 

in  "^  CQ  in  GO 
»n  CO  CO  CO  i> 

"iC.i-Bnjqg^ 

Direction. 

S. 

S.S.W. 

s.w. 

w.s.w. 

w 

S.S.E. 
S.E. 

E.S.E. 

E. 
E.N.E. 

N.E. 

W.N.W. 

N.W. 
N.N.W. 

N.E. 
N. 

Nature. 

^                          J 

Moist  but  ^ 
Temperate. 

^                                      J 

'o 

o 

A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  217 

These  Observations  and  Tables  were  made  and 
formed  by  a  very  Curious  Gentleman,  one  Doctor 
Lining  ;  and  to  them  I  shall  add  a  few  other  Observa- 
tions— relating  to  the  intense  cold  we  sometimes  have 
here :  because  it  is  much  to  be  wondered  at  considering 
how  intense  the  heat  is  at  other  times,  and  what  great 
deviations  there  are  from  those  superior  and  general 
Laws  of  Nature,  whereby  heat  and  cold  in  every  Cli- 
mate are  commonly  understood  to  be  chiefly  governed 
and  graduated. 

The  first  instance  of  intense  cold  that  I  shall  mention, 
relates  to  a  healthy  young  Person  of  my  Family,  who 
at  the  time  was  two  or  three  and  twenty  Years  of  age, 
and  usually  slept  in  a  Room  without  a  Fire.  That 
Person  carried  two  Quart  Bottles  of  Hot  Water  to  Bed, 
which  was  of  Down,  and  covered  with  English  Blan- 
kets :  the  Bottles  were  between  the  Sheets ;  but  in  the 
Morning  they  were  both  split  to  Pieces,  and  the  Water 
solid  Lumps  of  Ice. 

In  the  Kitchen  where  there  was  a  Fire,  the  Water  in 
a  Jar  in  which  there  was  a  large  Live  Eel,  was  frozen 
to  the  Bottom :  and  I  found  several  Birds  frozen  to  death 
near  my  House  ;  they  could  not  have  died  for  want  of 
Food,  the  Frost  having  been  but  of  one  Day's  Con- 
tinuance. 

But  an  Effect  much  to  be  regretted  is  that  it  destroyed 
almost  all  the  Orange  Trees  in  the  Country  :  I  lost 
above  three  hundred  bearing  Trees,  and  an  Olive  Tree 
of  such  a  prodigious  Size,  that  I  thought  it  proof  against 
all  Weathers ;  it  was  near  a  Foot  and  a  half  diameter 
in  the  Trunk,  and  bore  many  Bushels  of  excellent 
Olives  every  Year.  This  Frost  happened  on  the  7th  of 
February,  1747  ;  and  the  Winter  having  been  mild  with 
us  till  then,  the  Juices  were  so  far  risen  that  the  Orange 

28 


218      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Trees  were  ready  to  blossom ;  under  which  Circum- 
stances, that  Frost  burst  all  their  Vessels,  for  not  only 
the  Bark  of  all  of  them,  but  even  the  Bodies  of  many  of 
them  were  split,  and  all  on  the  side  next  the  Sun. 

Last  Year,  however,  many  of  them  shot  up  again 
from  the  Root,  and  I  have  measured  many  Shoots  , 
which  were  from  twelve  to  fifteen  Feet  in  Height,  and 
of  a  tolerable  thickness ! — a  surprising  Instance  of 
Vegetation  in  a  few  Months  ;  and  though  about  the  first 
Week  in  January  in  this  Winter,  we  had  a  pretty  smart 
Frost  of  two  or  three  Days  Continuance,  with  some 
Snow — it  did  not  injure  the  tenderest  Shoots,  but  a 
Month  after  we  had  another  smart  Frost,  when  the 
Juices  were  rising,  and  that  has  quite  killed  most  of 
those  Shoots. 


SECTION    IV. 

The  jpresent  Number  of  White  Inhabitants ;  of  Militia 
Forces,  and  of  Negro  Slaves ;  late  Increases  of  People  by 
new  Settlers ;  and  the  probability  of  many  Thousands 
m^ore  being  induced  to  com^e  and  settle  there. 

The  Number  of  White  Inhabitants  in  South  Carolina, 
is  at  present  nearly  twenty-five  thousand ;  and  the  Num- 
ber of  Negroes  there,  is  at  least  Thirty-nine  thousand ; 
of  the  latter  I  can  be  more  positive,  because  a  tax  is 
paid  for  them;  and  I  make  my  computation  of  the  for- 
mer by  the  Number  of  Men  borne  on  the  Muster  Rolls 
for  the  Militia,  which  is  about  five  thousand,  between 
the  ages  of  sixteen  and  sixty. 

Within  these  three  or  four  Years,  above  two  hundred 
Families  of  Germans  have  come  and  settled  in  this  Pro- 
vince;  and  within  the  last  Year  or  two  about  the  like 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF   SOUTH  CAROLINA.  219 

number  of  families  from  the  British  Colonies  have  come 
to  us ;  while  on  the  other  hand,  the  number  of  Inha- 
bitants who  have  left  this  Province  is  but  about  Five  or 
Six,  and  those  being-  indebted  here,  run  off  with  their 
Slaves  into  Georgia. 

As  numbers  of  People  well  employed  make  the  riches 
and  strength  of  the  Country,  I  am  determined,  from  the 
time  of  the  Proclamation  of  Peace,  to  observe  very  par- 
ticularly the  increase  of  the  Inhabitants  of  this  province, 
either  in  the  Natural  Way,  or  by  the  Accretion  from 
other  British  Colonies,  or  by  the  accession  of  Foreign- 
ers ;  which  by  the  blessing  of  God,  and  His  Majesty's 
Protection  and  favour,  I  think  may  be  several  Thousands 
in  a  few  Years. 

And  my  reasons  for  being  of  that  opinion  are  because 
here  is  a  large  tract  of  territory  hitherto  but  thinly  in- 
habited. Numbers  of  Navigable  Rivers,  which  make 
Carriage  easy,  and  afford  safe  Ports,  a  fertile  Soil,  and 
a  pretty  healthful  Climate,  Liberty  of  Conscience,  equal 
Laws,  easy  Taxes,  and  I  hope  I  may  add  with  truth,  a 
mild  Administration  of  the  Government. 


SECTION  V. 

The  Nature  and  Constitution  of  the  Government ;  the  princi- 
pal Officers  in  each  branch  thereof,  and  hy  whom  appointed 
and  elected. 

The  Government  of  South  Carolina  is  one  of  those 
called  Royal  Governments,  to  distinguish  it,  I  presume, 
from  the  Charter  Governments,  such  as  Massachusetts- 
Bay,  Connecticut,  and  Rhode  Island:  and  from  the 
Proprietary  Governments,  such  as  Pensilvania  and 
Maryland. 


220      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAEOLINA. 

Its  Constitution  is  formed  after  the  model  of  onr 
Mother  Country :  The  Governor,  Council,  and  Assem- 
bly, constitute  the  three  branches  of  the  Legislature, 
and  have  power  to  make  such  Laws  as  may  be  thought 
necessary  for  the  better  Government  of  the  Province 
not  repugnant  to  the  Laws  of  Great  Britain,  nor  de- 
parting from  them  beyond  what  necessity  may  require. 

The  Governor  is  appointed  by  Patent,  by  the  .title  of 
Governor  in  Chief,  and  Captain-General  in  and  over  the 
Province;  He  receives  also  a  Vice  Admiral's  Com- 
mission :  But  alas  !  these  high  sounding  titles  convey 
very  little  Power,  and  I  have  often  wished  that  Go- 
vernors had  more ;  I  cannot,  however,  help  making 
this  disinterested  Remark,  that  though  a  Virtuous 
Person  might  be  trusted  with  a  little  more  power,  per- 
haps there  may  be  as  much  already  given,  as  can  safely 
be  delegated  to  a  weak  or  a  wicked  Person ;  and  con- 
sidering, that  such  may  in  ill  times  happen  to  be 
employed,  a  wise  and  good  Prince  will  therefore  guard 
against  it. 

The  Members  of  the  Council  are  appointed  by  the 
King,  under  his  Royal  Sign  Manual,  and  are  twelve  in 
number ;  to  Avliich  number  the  Surveyor-General  of  the 
Customs  must  be  added,  he  having  a  Seat  in  Council, 
in  all  the  Governments  within  his  district. 

The  Assembly  consists  of  Forty-four  Members  elected 
every  third  year  by  the  Freeholders  of  Sixteen  different 
Parishes  :  but  the  Representation  seems  to  be  unequal ; 
some  Parishes  returning  Five,  others  Four,  Three, 
Two,  or  only  One :  and  some  Towns  which,  by  the 
King's  Instructions  have  a  right  to  be  erected  into  Pa- 
rishes, and  to  send  two  Members  are  not  allowed  to  send 
any. 

There  is  a  Court  of  Chancery,   composed    of   the 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA.  221 

Governor  and  Council,  and  there  is  a  Master  in  Chan- 
cery, and  a  Register  belonging  to  the  Court. 

The  Court  of  Kino^'s  Bench  consists  of  a  Chief  Justice 
appointed  by  his  Majesty  and  some  Assistant  justices  : 
The  same  Persons  constitute  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas :  there  is  a  Clerk  of  the  Crown  who  is  also  Clerk 
of  the  Pleas :  an  Attorney-general,  and  a  Provost-Mar- 
shall. 

There  is  a  Secretary  of  the  Province,  who  is  also 
Register,  and  Pretends  a  Right  to  be,  and  appoints,  the 
Clerk  of  the  Council;  there  is  also  a  Clerk  of  the 
Assembly,  a  Surveyor-general  of  the  Land,  a  Receiver- 
general  of  the  Quit  rents,  a  Vendue  Master,  and 
Naval  Officer,  all  which  Officers  are  appointed  by  the 
Crown. 

There  is  a  Court  of  Vice-Admhalty ;  the  Judge,  Re- 
gister and  Marshall  thereof  are  appointed  by  the  Lords 
Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty. 

There  is  a  Comptroller  of  the  Customs  ;  Three  Col- 
lectors, one  at  each  port,  viz.  Charles-Town,  Port  Royal, 
and  Winyaw ;  there  are  likewise  Two  Searchers  at 
Charles-Town;  all  these  are  appointed  by  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  Customs,  or  by  the  Lords  Commission- 
ers of  the  Treasury. 

The  public  Treasurer,  the  County  Comptroller,  the 
Commissioners  for  Indian  Affairs,  and  several  other 
Officers  are  appointed  by  the  general  Assembly. 

The  Clergy  are  elected  by  the  People. 

The  Governor  appoints  Justices  of  the  Peace,  and 
Officers  in  the  Militia,  which  are  offices  of  no  profit, 
and  some  trouble,  and  therefore  few  will  accept  of  them 
unless  they  are  much  Courted. 


222      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


SECTION  VL 

The  principal  Taxes  laid  for  the  Ordinary  and  Extraordi- 
nary Expenses  of  the  Province  Government :  and  the 
Heads  of  Expense  ichereto  the  Monies  thereby  raised 
commonly  are  appropriated. 

The  Public  Revenues  within  the  Province  of  South 
Carolina,  arise  partly  from  Goods  imported,  imposed  by 
a  law,  called  the  general  Duty-Law :  and  partly  from 
Taxes  upon  Real  and  Personal  Estates,  wherein  are 
comprehended  Lands,  Houses,  Money  at  Interest,  Stock 
in  Trade,  &c. 

The  Species  of  Goods  liable  to  Duties,  are  Sugar, 
Rum,  Madeira  Wine,  and  a  few  other  Sorts  of  Commo- 
dities :  but  not  one  Commodity  of  the  Produce  or 
Manufacture  of  Great  Britain  is  charged  with  any  Duty 
in  this  Province.  The  Monies  raised  as  aforesaid  are 
appropriated  to  defray  the  ordinary  and  extraordinary 
Expenses  of  the  Province  Government — excepting  some 
particular  Expenses  which  are  provided  for  by  other 
Funds :  and  the  after  mentioned  Heads  of  appropria- 
tion, will  best  shew  in  what  manner  those  public 
Revenues  are  applied. 

Province  Debts,  such  as  were  contracted  by  the 
Expedition  to  St.  Augustine,  and  for  the  Relief  of 
Georgia. 

The  Salaries  of  such  Officers  as  have  not  appoint- 
ments upon  Quit-Rents. 

The  Stipends  of  our  Clergy. 

The  Salaries  of  School-masters  and  Ushers. 

The  Salary  &c.  of  our  Agent  in  Great  Britain. 

The  pay  of  Gunners  at  our  several  Forts. 

The  settling  Foreign  Protestants  in  this  Province. 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.      223 

The  additional  pay  allowed  to  the  Three  Independant 
Companies  of  regular  Troops  serving  here. 

The  keeping  in  Repair  our  Fortifications  and  Public 
Buildings. 

Presents  to  the  Chiefs  of  the  Indian  Nations :  but 
his  Majesty  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  relieve  us 
from  this  Article  of  Expense. 

Troops  of  Rangers,  casually  taken  into  pay  upon  any 
Alarm,  for  which  I  hope  there  will  not  hereafter  be 
much  Occasion. 

Two  Gallies  Equipped  and  kept  in  pay  for  the  defence 
of  our  Island  Passages:  they  are  now  laid  aside,  but  the 
Expense  of  them  used  to  be  about  fourteen  thousand 
Pounds  a  year. 

Eight  Look  outs,  which  are  also  laid  aside  ;  the  ex- 
pense of  them  was  about  Three  thousand  Five  hundred 
pounds  per  Annum. 


SECTION  VII. 

Their  maritime  Trade  ;  The  number  and  quality  of  Seamen 
and  Shipping  therein  employed  :  The  Species  of  Merchan- 
dize imported  there  from  Great  Britain :  The  Species^ 
Quantities,  and  values  of  their  Own  produce  exported  from 
thence  ;  and  of  irnported  Tnerchandise  hy  them  re-exported. 

The  maritime  Trade  of  South-Carolina  hath  of  late 
years  been  much  more  beneficial  to  the  Inhabitants  of 
that  Province  than  formerly  it  was ;  which  is  partly 
owing  to  the  great  increase  in  the  Value  of  their  Ex- 
ports ;  and  partly  to  a  considerable  decrease  in  their 
Imports  from  the  Colonies  of  New- York,  Pensilvania, 
&c.  For  those  two  Colonies  used  to  drain  us  of  all  the 
little  Money  and  bills  we  could  gain  upon  our  trade 


224  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

with  other  places,  in  Payment  for  the  great  Quantities 
of  Flour,  Bread,  and  Beer,  Hams,  Bacon  and  other  Com- 
modities of  their  Produce  wherewith  they  then  supplied 
us,  all  which,  excepting  Beer,  our  new  townships,  inha- 
bited by  Germans,  begin  to  supply  us  with. 

And  the  Importation  of  Negroe-Slaves  which  formerly 
was  a  considerable  article  of  expense  to  us,  hath  not 
only  been  saved  for  a  time,  but  is  likely  to  continue  so 
for  the  future.     A  law  having  been  made  in  this  Pro- 
vince whereby  a  duty  was  laid  on  Negroes  imported 
here,   that  it  amounted  to  a  prohibition:    and  though 
since  the  expiration  of  that  Law,  the  war  hath  hitherto 
prevented  any  from  being  imported,  I  do  not  find  that 
in  about  nine  years  time,  our  number  of  negroes  is  di- 
minished, but  on  the  contrary,  increased  :   so  that  from 
all  appearances  the  negroes  bred  from  our  ovai  Stock, 
will  continually  recruit  and  keep  it  up,  if  not  enable  us 
to  supply  the  sugar  Colonies  with  a  small  number  of 
Negroes.     As  to  the  increased  value  of  our  Exports, 
I  have  already  said  that  the  price  of  our  principal  Com- 
modity, Rice,  was  some  years  ago  so  low   as  Ten  or 
Twelve  Shillings  per  Hundred  pounds  weight,  which  is 
only  one  Fourth  part  of  the  price  we  have  lately  sold 
our  Rice  for ;  the   medium  Price  last  year  being  about 
45  shillings  Currency  per  Cent.  lb.  and  all  this  year  it 
has  been  55  shillings  to  60  shillings  per  Cent,  lb :   so 
that  our  main  article  of  export  is  not  only  quadrupled  in 
Value  to  us,  but  much  increased  in  Quantity  also  ;   and 
the  quick  Progress  we  have  already  made  in  the  culture 
of  Indigo,  gives  reason  to  expect  that  it  will  one  time  or 
other  prove  to  be  a  commodity  of  as  great  profit  as  Rice 
has  been.     But  with  all  this  trade  we  have  few  or  no 
ships  of  our  own  :  We  depend  in  a  great  measure  upon 
those  sent  from  Great  Britain,  or  on  such  as  are  built  in 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


225 


New-England  for  British  merchants,  and  which  gene- 
rally take  this  Country  in  their  way,  to  get  a  Freight  to 
England  :  the  Consideration  thereof  naturally  leads  me 
to  take  notice  of  the  advantag-e  we  bring-  to  our  Mother 
Country,  by  producing  such  vast  quantities  of  Marketa- 
ble Commodities  which  do  not  interfere  with  her  own 
produce,  and  by  confining  ourselves  to  the  Colony  pro- 
fits from  thence  arising,  the  latter  whereof  is  a  matter  of 
the  highest  Importance  to  Great  Britain  as  a  naval 
power,  and  it  would  be  doing  injustice  to  South  Caroli- 
na not  to  shew  our  national  value  in  that  respect. 


An  account  of  the  Number  of  Vessels  which  have  loaded  at  the 
Port  of  Charles- Town  in  South-Carolina  in  each  year  be- 
tween Christmas  1735  and  Christmas  1748  ;  loith  the  am,ount 
of  Tonnage,  computed  from  Cargoes  and  not  takenfrom,  the 
Registers  :  the  Rates  of  Freight,  and  the  Ntimhers  of  Sea- 
m,an,  for  the  three  Last  of  those  years. 


Between  Christmas, 

Vessels. 

Between  Christmas, 

Vessels. 

1735  and  1736  .  . 

.   .  317 

1740  and  1741   .  . 

.   .   256 

1736     "     1737  .   . 

.■  .   217 

1741     "     1742  .   . 

.   .   190 

1737     "     1738  .   . 

.   .   198 

1742     "     1743  .   . 

,  .  206 

1738     "     1739  .  , 

.   .   222 

1743     ''     1744  .   . 

.   .   230 

1739     "     1740  .  . 

.   .  257 

1744     "     1745  .   . 

.   .  208 

From  Christmas,  1745,  to  Christmas,  1746. 


No.  of  Vessels. 

86 
121 


Total,  255 


Whither  Bound. 

Europe. 

West  Indies. 

Northern  Colonies, 


Tonnage. 

10,555 
4,018 
1,720 


16,2931 
29 


Rates  of 
Freight. 

Amount  of  Freight. 

^Q  10 

£68,607   10 

4   10 

18,081   00 

3   10 

6,020  00 

£92,708  10 

226 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


From  Christmas,  1746,  to  Christmas,  1747. 


No.  of  Vessels. 

105 
93 
37 


Total,  235 


Whither  Bound. 

Europe. 

West  Indies. 

Northern  Colonies. 


Tonnage. 

12,714 
4,712 
1,332 


18,758 


Rates  of 
Freight. 

£6  10 
4  10 
3   10 


Amount  of  Freight. 

£82,628 

21,207 

4,662 


£108,497 


I^om  Christmas,  1747,  to  Christmas,  1748. 


No.  of  Vessels. 

68 
87 
37 


Total,  192 


Whither  Bound. 

Europe. 

West  Indies. 

Northern  Colonies. 


Tonnage. 

8,465 
4,299 
1,189 


13,953 


Rates  of 
Freight. 

No.  of 
Men. 

-  Amount  of 
Freight. 

6  00 

769 

£50,790 

4  00 

499 

16,196 

3  00 

24] 

3,567 

1509 

£70,553 

From  the  preceding  account  it  appears,  that  the  trade 
of  South  Carolina  gives  employment  to  Fifteen  Thou- 
sand Ton  of  Shipping,  and  to  Fifteen  Hundred  Sea- 
man, all  of  which  are  or  might  be,  British ;  and  admit- 
ting them  to  be  such  the  very  Freight  of  our  produce 
brings  in  a  profit  of  about  One  hundred  Thousand  Pounds 
Sterhng  a  year  to  our  Mother  Country,  and  over  and 
above  the  addition  of  Naval  power  from  thence  aris- 
ing ;  than  which  there  needs  not  a  more  strikmg  proof 
how  nearly  it  concerns  Great  Britain  to  keep  the  Freight 
of  all  her  Colony  produce  to  herself. 

For  there  is  a  reason  to  believe  that  the  Rice,  and 
other  principal  Articles  exported  from  ^South  Carolina, 
do  not  in  Tonnage  make  more  than  one  Tenth  part  of 
the  useful  commodities  which  all  the  British  Northern 
Colonies  are  very  capable  of  producing  for  exportation  : 
and  this  without  interfering  with  Great  Britain  or  with 
Ireland,  by  exporting  Com,  Flour,  Biscuit,  Cheese,  But- 
ter, Beer,  Beef,  Pork,  and  by  catching,  curing,  and  car- 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.       227 

Tying  Salted  Cod  and  other  Fish  to  various  Markets  ; 
for  the  single  article  of  Tobacco  yearly  exported  from 
North  America  makes  about  thirty  thousand  Ton. 

And  when  it  is  considered  how  naturally  capable  the 
Northern  Colonies  are  of  wholly  supplying  Great  Bri- 
tain, Ireland,  the  Sugar  Colonies,  &c.  with  Ship  Tim- 
ber, Masts,  Lumber,  Pitch,  Tar,  Turpentine,  Hemp, 
Flax,  Iron,  &c.  and  what  great  numbers  of  Ships  are 
employed  in  carrying  Commodities  from  one  part  of 
America  to  another,  besides  those  employed  in  catching, 
curing,  and  carrying  to  various  Markets  Salted  Cod  and 
other  Fish  ;  there  will  upon  the  whole  appear  abundant 
reason  for  thinking,  that  the  Freight  of  all  those  com- 
modities might  be  made  to  employ  Fifteen  Thousand 
British  Seaman,  and  to  bring  one  Million  Pounds  Sterl- 
ing yearly  into  Great  Britain. 

Much  more  might  be  said  upon  this  important  subject, 
but  what  I  have  already  mentioned  sufficiently  shews, 
the  National  value  of  South  Carolina  in  respect  of  Ship- 
ping and  Naval  Power :  I  shall  therefore  proceed  to  show 
how  far  we  contribute  to  the  Prosperity  of  our  Mo- 
ther Country  by  the  Consumption  of  such  Commodities 
and  Manufactures  as  she  produces  or  supplies  us  with ; 
but  previous  thereto,  I  cannot  help  expressing  my  sur- 
prise and  Concern  to  Find  that  there  are  annually  im- 
ported into  this  Province,  considerable  quantities  of  Fine 
Flanders  Laces,  the  Finest  Dutch  Linens,  and  French 
Cambricks,  Chints,  Hyson  Tea,  and  other  East  India 
Goods,  Silks,  Gold  and  Silver  Lace,  &c. 

By  these  means  we  are  kept  in  low  circumstances  ; 
and  though  it  may  have  the  appearance  of  being  for  the 
present  beneficial  to  the  British  Merchants,  yet  it  re- 
tards our  increase  both^in  people  and  wealth,  and  con- 
sequently renders  us  less  profitable   to   Great  Britain, 


228  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

for  the  Kiches  of  all  Colonies  must  at  length  Centre  in 
the  Mother  C(j|intrj,  more  especially  v/hen  they  are  not 
encouraged  to'go  upon  Manufactories,  and  when  they 
do  not  rival  her  in  her  produce. 

For  these  reasons  I  have  always  endeavoured  to  cor- 
rect and  restrain  the  vices  of  Extravagence  and  Luxury 
by  my  own  example  ;  and  by  my  advice  to  inculcate  the 
necessity  of  Diligence,  Industry,  and  Frugality ;  telling 
them,  that  by  pursuing  these  Maxims,  the  Dutch  from 
low  beginnings  climedup  to  be  high  and  mighty  States ; 
and  that  by  following  the  contrary  methods,  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Rome  fell  from  being  mistress  of  the 
World. 

The  following  Lists  of  various  sorts  of  Commodities 
and  Manufactures  usually  imported  into  this  Province 
from  Great  Britain  contains  the  best  information  I  can 
give  in  relation  to  the  several  Species  and  Quantities  of 
British  Manufactures  consumed  here  :  The  duties  of  my 
station  not  permitting  me  to  spare  so  much  time  as 
would  be  requisite  to  find  out  the  precise  Quantity  of 
each  Species  of  Manufactures  so  imported ;  however  I 
am  enabled  to  say  thus  much  concerning  them,  that  in 
general  the  Quantity  seems  to  be  too  great,  and  the 
Quality  of  them  too  fine,  and  ill  calculated  for  the  cir- 
cumstances of  an  Infant  Colony. 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAEOLINA. 


229 


A    LIST 

Of  the  several  Species  of  Commodities  and  Manufactures 
which  are  usually  imported  into  the  Province  of  South  Caro- 
lina from  Great  Britain. 


'  Druggets  and  Drabs 

Daffils  and  Duroys 

Sherges  and  Shalloons 

Camblets  and  Grograms 

Cloths,  Broad  and  narrow  of  all  sorts  from 
the  finest  Broad  cloth  down  to  Negro 
Cloth  ;  none  having  been  manufactured 
here,  excepting  a  little  Negro  Cloth,  and 
that  only  when  the  produce  of  this  Pro- 
{      vince  bore  but  a  low  price 

Cloaths,  ready  made  :  our  Imports  in  these 
two  last  articles  are  to  a  great  value 

Blankets  of  all  sorts 

Flannells 

Hats  woUen  and  beaver 

Stockings 

Shrouds 

Carpets 

Buttons  and  mohair 


British 
Woolen 
Manufac- 
tures 


Linen  Man- 
vfuctures 


Clot^  of  every  kind,  from  Cambrick  to 
Osnabrigs ;  of  the  manufacture  of  Ger- 
many, Holland,  England,  Scotland,  and 

\  Ireland,  to  a  great  Value.  We  also  im- 
port small  quantities  of  Linen  that  is 
made    by    Irish  People   settled  in  the 

I      Townships  of  Williamsburg  in  Virginia. 


230 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


Linen  Man- 
ufactures 


East  India 
and  Cotton 
Manufac- 
tures 


Silk  Manu- 
factures 


Laces 


Mettalic 
Manufac- 
tures 


Miscellane- 
ous Manu- 
factures 


{ Sail-Cloth 

I  Ticking 

I  Checquered  and  printed  Linens 

[  Haberdashery-wares 

Callicoes  white  and  printed 

\  Muslins 

[  Dimity  and  Fustian 

'  Stuffs  of  British  manufacture 

of  East  India  Manufacture 

I  Stockings  and  Handkerchiefs,  Gloves  and 
i      Ribbons 

of  Gold,  Silver  and  Thread 

Iron,  cast   and  wrought  into  all  sorts   of 

Houshold  Utensils  and  Cutlery-wares 
Guns,  Pistols,  Swords,  &c. 
Nails  of  all  sorts 
Lead  in  sheets,  Bullets  and  Shot 
<;  Tin  ware 
Pewter,  in  Houshold  utensils  &c. 
Brass  wrought  of  all  sorts 
Copper  v/rought  of  all  sorts 
Plate  and  Silver  wrought 
Watches,  Gold  and  Silver 

Books 

Cables  and  Cordage 
China  and  other  Earthen-wares 
\  Chairs  and  beds 
Fans  and  other  Millinery-wares 
Glass-wares  as  Looking  Glasses,  Drinking 
Glasses,  and  Bottles 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


231 


Miscellane- 


Leather  wrought  into  Shoes,  Boots,  Sad- 
dles, Bridles,  &c. 
Gloves  of  all  sorts 


Edibles 


Liquors 


ous  Manu-  \  Paper  of  all  sorts 
factures  pictures  and  Prints 

Stationary  wares 

Files 

Cheese 

Grocery-wares 
Oil,  sallad,  &c. 
Salt 

Beer  in  Casks  and  Bottles 

Tea  of  all  Sorts 

Wines  of  various  Sorts ;  but  the  Wine 
chiefly  drank  here  is  Madeira,  imported 
directly  from  the  place  of  growth. 

Coals 
Corks 

Drugs  and  Medicines 
Grind  Stones 
Gunpowder 
Iron,  in  Bars 
Painters  Colours 
Quills 
^  Snuff 

We  have  very  little  Trade  with  any  Foreign  Planta- 
tion ;  and  none  with  any  part  of  Europe  besides  Great 
Britian,  unless  our  sending  Rice  to  Lisbon  may  be  call- 
ed so. 

The  Civilities  I  had  an  Opportunity  of  showing  to  the 


Miscellane- 
ous Commo- 
dities 


232  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Spanish  Prisoners  of  Distinction  who  have  been  brought 
in  here  during  the  war,  and  the  humanity  with  which 
even  the  meanest  were  treated,  was  opened         '^         ^ 

-X-  ^  -5^  ■¥:  -X    '  -X-  -X-  -X-  -X-  -X- 

^  -x-  ^  ^  ^  "^  ^  ^  ^ 

[hath  been  productive  of  such  national  advantages  as 
might  be  expected,  from  men  who  have  a  high  sense  of 
honour  and  Obhgation.] 

No  Country  in  this  part  of  the  world  hath  less  illegal 
trade  than  South  Carolina ;  at  least  so  far  as  I  can  learn, 
though  if  there  was  any  it  would  be  difficult  to  prevent 
it,  by  reason  of  the  great  number  of  Rivers  and  Creeks, 
and  the  small  number  of  the  Officers  of  the  Customs. 

I  therefore  think  it  would  be  of  service,  if  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  Customs  were  to  appoint  another 
Searcher  for  this  province,  and  Two  Waiters  for  the  Port 
of  Charles-Town,  with  Salaries  which  they  may  live 
upon ;  for  at  present  it  is  almost  impossible  for  a  Col- 
lector and  two  Searchers  to  transact  all  the  business  in 
that  Port 

The  two  following  accounts  of  exports  from  Charles- 
ton, in  the  year  1748,  exhibit  a  view  of  the  several  spe- 
cies of  commodities  and  manufactures  usually  exported 
from  this  Province.  I  have  been  very  careful  in  sepa- 
rating such  of  them  as  are  of  our  own  produce  from  those 
which  were  brought  here  from  Great  Britain  and  other 
Countries,  well  knowing  that  without  such  distinction 
some  or  other  of  the  latter  might  have  been  mistaken  for 
the  former,  and  prejudicial  notions  thereby  raised  upon 
a  false  foundation. 

But  nothing  of  this  sort  can  happen,  now  that  the 
exports  of  South  Carolina  Produce  are  inserted  in  one 
account,  and  the  Re-exports  of  imported  Commodities 
and  Manufactures  m  another ;   the  latter  whereof  may 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.       233 

be  of  farther  use,  in  helping  more  nearly  to  determine 
what  Quantities  of  British  Coiiimodities  and  Manufac- 
tures really  are  consumed  in  this  Province.  Because 
in  such  Cases,  the  value  of  a  Colony  to  her  mother 
Country  is  not  to  be  estimated  by  the  Quantities  of  Com- 
modities and  Manufactures  yearly  exported  from  the 
latter  to  the  former;  but  by  the  Quantities  consumed 
thereof  in  such  Colony,  or  by  people  with  whom  that 
Colony  can  and  her  mother  Country  cannot  carry  on 
trade  in  such  sort  of  Merchandise. 

And  considering  that  the  Re-exportation  of  British 
Commodities  and  Manufactures  from  our  Northern  Co- 
lonies may  be  a  means  of  introducing  Colony  Manufac- 
tures of  the  like  sorts  into  various  foreign  Markets :  The 
same  disposition  that  led  me  to  shew  the  National  value 
of  South  Carolina,  in  respect  of  Freight  and  naval 
Power,  also  leads  me  to  make  these  Observations  con- 
cerning Re-exports. 


30 


234 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 


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A  DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 


235 


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A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH   CAROLINA. 


237 


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288 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 


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A  DESCRIPTION  OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  239 


An  Account  of  the  several  /Species  and  Quantities  of  such  Com-^ 
modities  and  Manufactures,  not  of  the  Produce  of  South 
Carolina  as  were  re-exported  from  thence  at  the  Port  of 
Charles-  Town  in  one  Year  from  1  November  1747  to  1 
November  1748. 

CLOTH  STUFF,  &c.  MANUFACTURES. 

Broad  Cloths  4  Pieces 

Duroys  6  Pieces 

Camblets  3  pieces 

Cloaths  ready  made  1  chest,  1  case,  1  bale 

Hats  1  barrell,  2  boxes 

Hose,  Wollen  8  Dozen  Pairs 

Various  Sorts  10  Bales,  50  Trunks 

1  Tierce  77  Casks 

14  Bundles  1  Chest  and 
6  Boxes 
Linens  3  Cases  1  Chest 

5  Bales,  3  Casks 
Oznabrigs  1  Cask  4  Pieces 
Haberdashery-wares  2  Trunks  and  sundries 
Dimity  4  Pieces 
Chints  and  Callicoes  22  Pieces 
Lace  3  Gross 

METALLIC  MANUFACTURES. 

Artillery,  12  Guns  with  Carriages 
Small  Arms,  1  Chest 
Graplings,      3     " 
Iron  Pots,  10  cent.  lb. 
Iron  Wares,  3  Casks 


240  A  DESCRIPTION  OF   SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Pewter  wrought,  2  Casks 

Miscellaneous  Manufactures 

Cordage  about,  130  Coils 

Shoes  1  Barrel,  10  dozen  pairs 

Saddler's- Wares,  3  Trunks 

Houshold  Furniture,  quantity  not  inserted 

Earthen-Wares,  one  Hogshead,  7  Casks 

3  Crates 
Glass  Wares,   1   Case,  1  Cask,  7  Boxes 

6  Gross  Bottles 

Tobacco  Pipes,  9  Boxes 
Medicines  2  Chests,  1  Cask 

EDIBLES. 

Flour  1143Barrells 

Biscuit  99  Barrells 

Cheese  about  3.500  pounds  wt. 

Fish  5  Hogsheads  17  Barrels  and  2.300  pounds 

weight 
Salt  28  Barrels,  and  280  bushels 
Sugar  69  Hogsheads  24  Tierces  and  262  Casks 
Melasses  47  Hds— 8  Bbls 
Raisins  3  Casks  1  Hogshd 
Cocoa  7  Barrels 
Pepper  8  Cask,  320  lb.  wt. 
Cinnamon  1  Cask 
Apples  10  Barrels 
Pickles  6  Cases  2  Barrels, 
Ginger  Bread  2|  Cent,  lb 

LIQUORS. 

Beer  90  Bbls,  18  Hogshds 

11  Hampers,  96  Dozen  in  Bottles 


A  DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  241 

€yder  66  Bis 
Vinegar  5  Barrel,  1  Tierce 
"Wines  Claret,  2  HogsMs 
Other  Sorts  53  Pipes  19Bbls 

—         30  Hogshds,  124  Casks 
Spirits  Rurn  49  Hogshds,  6  Bbls 
Cordials  19  Casks 
Other  Sorts  2  Cags 
Tea  1  tub 

ANIMAL  PRODUCE  OF  OTHER  SORTS. 

Oil  21  Bbls  22  Cases  and 

15  Casks 
Tortoise  Shell  136  pounds  wt. 

VEGITABLE  PRODUCE  OF  OTHER  SORTS. 

Mahogany  Planks  4.132  in  number  and 

Plank  1.627  Feet 
Logwood  91  Tons  and  a  half 
Brazilletto  Wood  299  Tons 
Ligum-Vitse  35  Tons 
Fustic  Wood  3  Tons 
Bahama  Bark,  1  Bag,  1  barrel 
Sarsaparilla  7  bags  1.636  lb.  wt. 
Tobacco  76  Hogsheads  4  Casks 

MINERAL  PRODUCE  OF  OTHER  SORTS. 

Quicksilver  88  Chests 
Salt  Peter  1  Cask 
Gunpowder  59  Barrels 
Copperas  for  Brewers  1 — - 
Coals  28  Bushels 
Grindstones  115 

31 


242  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


SECTION  vm. 

The  Situation,  Strength,  and  Connections  of  the  several  Nations 
of  Neighbouring  Indians ;  the  Hostilities  they  have  com- 
mitted on  British  Subjects,  at  the  Instigation  of  the  French, 
and  lately  upon  those  Instigators  themselves  ;  some  Particu- 
lars relating  to  thePrench  Ports,  Porces  and  Proceedings  in 
Louisiana  and  Mississippi. 

The  concerns  of  this  Country  are  so  closely  connected 
and  interA^oven  with  Indian  Affairs,  and  not  only  a  great 
branch  of  our  trade,  but  even  the  Safety  of  this  Pro- 
vince, do  so  much  depend  upon  our  continumg  in 
Friendship  with  the  Indians,  that  I  thought  it  highly  ne- 
cessary to  gain  all  the  knowledge  I  could  of  them;  and 
I  hope  that  the  accounts  which  I  have  from  time  to  time 
transmitted  of  Indian  affairs  will  shew,  that  I  am  pretty 
well  acquainted  with  the  subject. 

However  I  think  it  expedient  upon  the  present  Occa- 
sion to  give  a  general  Account  of  the  several  Tribes  and 
Nations  oi  Indians  wi\h.^\iom.  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Pro- 
vince are  or  may  be  connected  in  Interest :  which  is  the 
more  necessary  as  all  we  have  to  apprehend  from  the 
French  in  this  part  of  the  world,  will  much  more  depend  up- 
on the  Indians  than  upon  any  Strength  of  their  own  ;  for 
that  is  so  inconsiderable  in  itself,  and  so  far  distant  from 
us,  that  without  Indian  Assistance,  it  cannot  if  exerted, 
do  us  much  harm. 

There  are  among  our  Settlements  several  small 
Tribes  of  Indians,  consisting  only  of  some  few  families 
each :  but  those  Tribes  of  Indians  which  we,  on  ac- 
count of  their  being  numerous  and  having  lands  of  their 
own,   call  Nations,    are    all  of  them  situated  on  the 


A  DESCRIPTION   OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  243 

Western  Side  of  this  Province,  and  at  various  distances 
as  I  have  already  mentioned. 

The  Catawbaw  Nation  of  Indians  hath  about  Three 
hundred  Fighting  Men ;  brave  fellows  as  any  on  the 
Continent  of  America  and  our  firm  friends ;  their 
Country  is  about  two  hundred  miles  from  Charles- 
Town. 

The  Cherokees  live  at  the  distance  of  about  Three 
hundred  miles  from  Charles  Town,  though  indeed  their 
hunting  grounds  stretch  much  nearer  to  us — They  have 
about  Three  thousand  Gun  men,  and  are  in  Alhance 
with  this  Government. 

I  lately  made  a  considerable  purchase  from  that  In- 
dian Nation,  of  some  of  those  hunting  grounds,  which 
are  now  become  the  property  of  the  British  Crown,  at 
the  Charge  of  this  Province :  I  had  the  deeds  of  con- 
veyance formally  executed  in  their  own  Country,  by 
their  head  men,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  people,  and 
with  their  universal  approbation  and  good  will. 

They  inhabit  a' Tract  of  Country  about  Two  hundred 
miles  in  Extent,  and  form  a  good  barrier,  which  is  natu- 
rally strengthened  by  a  Country  hilly  and  mountainous, 
but  said  to  be  interspersed  with  pleasant  and  fruitful 
vallies,  and  watered  by  many  limpid  and  wholsome 
Brooks  and  rivulets,  which  run  among  the  Hills,  and 
give  those  real  pleasures  which  we  in  the  lower  Lands 
have  only  in  imagination. 

The  Creek  Indians  are  situated  about  Five  hundred 
miles  from  Charles-Town ;  their  number  of  fighting  men 
is  about  two  thousand  five  hundred,  and  they  are  in 
Friendship  with  us. 

The  Chickesaws  live  at  the  distance  of  near  Eight 
hundred  miles  from  Charles-Town :  they  have  bravely 
stood  their  ground  against  the  repeated  attacks  of  the 


244  A  DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

French  and  their  Indians  :  but  are  now  reduced  to  Two 
or  Three  hundred  men. 

The  Chactaw  Nation  of  Indians  is  situated  at  a  some- 
what greater  distance  from  us,  and  have  till  within  this 
year  or  two  been  in  the  Interest  of  the  French,  by  whom 
they  were  reckoned  to  be  the  most  numerous  of  any  na- 
tion of  Indians  in  America,  and  said  to  consist  of  many 
Thousand  Men. 

The  people  of  most  experience  in  the  affairs  of  this 
Country,  have  always  dreaded  a  French  war ;  from  an 
apprehension  that  an  Indian  war  would  be  the  conse- 
quence of  it ;  for  which  reasons,  I  have  ever  since  the 
first  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  France,  redoubled  my 
Attention  to  Indian  Affairs :  and  I  hope,  not  without 
Success. 

For  notwithstanding  all  the  intrigues  .^of  the  French, 
they  have  not  been  able  to  get  the  least  footing  among 
our  Nations  of  Indians ;  as  very  plainly  appears  by 
those  Nations  still  continuing  to  give  fresh  proofs  of 
their  attachment  to  us  :  and  I  have  had  ^the  happiness 
to  bring  over  and  fix  the  Friendship  of  the  Chactaw 
Nation  of  Indians  in  the  British  Interest. 

This  powerful  Engine,  which  the  French  for  many 
years  past,  played  against  us  and  our  Indians,  even  in 
times  of  Peace,  is  now  happily  turned  against  them- 
selves, and  I  believe  they  feel  the  force  of  it. 

For  according  to  last  accounts,  which  I  have  received 
from  thence,  by  the  Captain  of  a  Sloop  that  touched  at 
Mobile  about  two  months  ago,  the  Chactaw  Indians  had 
driven  into  the  Town  of  Mobile  all  the  French  Planters 
who  were  settled  either  upon  the  river  bearing  the  same 
name  or  in  the  Neighbouring  Country,  and  there  kept 
them  in  a  manner  besieged,  so  that  a  few  of  the  French 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF    SOUTH   CAROLINA.  245 

who  ventured  out  of  the  Town  to  hunt  up  Cattle  were 
immediately  scalped. 

Monsieur  Vaudreuille  the  Governor  of  Louisiana  was 
then  in  Mobile  endeavoring  to  support  his  people,  and 
trying  to  recover  the  friendship  of  those  Indians.  At  the 
same  time  there  were  some  head  men  with  about 
Twenty  of  their  People  in  Charles-Town. 

I  have  been  the  fuller  in  my  Relation  of  this  matter, 
because  I  humbly  conceive  it  to  be  a  very  delicate  Af- 
fair, for  these  Chactaw  Indians,  have  formerly  and  even 
so  lately  as  I  have  been  in  this  Province,  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  the  French  and  assisted  and  headed  by  them,  in 
time  of  Peace,  murdered  our  Traders  in  their  Way  to 
the  Chickesaw  Indians,  and  Robbed  them  of  their 
goods :  but  I  hope  the  French  Governors  will  never 
have  it  in  their  power  to  charge  us  with  such  unfair 
Practises. 

I  shall  be  particularly  cautious  of  doing  any  thing  in- 
consistent with  the  peace  so  lately  concluded :  but  I 
think  it  incumbent  on  me  to  say,  that  it  will  be  impossi- 
ble to  retain  those  Indians,  or  any  other,  in  his  Majesty's 
interest  unless  we  continue  to  trade  with  them. 

And  since  war  and  hunting  are  the  business  of  their 
lives,  both  Arms  and  Ammunition  as  well  as  Cloaths  and 
other  necessaries,  are  the  goods  for  which  there  is  the 
greatest  demand  among  them — I  therefore  hope  to  re- 
ceive instructions  in  this  particular,  as  a  rule  of  my 
conduct. 

There  are  a  pretty  many  Indians  among  the  Kays, 
about  the  cape  of  Florida,  who  might  be  easily  secured 
to  the  British  Interest :  but  as  they  have  little  communi- 
cation with  any  others  on  the  main  Land,  and  have  not 
any  goods  to  trade  for,  they  could  not  be  of  any  advan- 
tage either  in  peace  or  war. 


246  A  DESCRIPTION   OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

There  are  also  a  few  Yamasees,  about  twenty  men, 
near  St.  Augnstine  :  and  these  are  all  the  Indians  in  this 
part  of  the  world  that  are  in  the  Interest  of  the  Crown 
of  Spain. 

The  French  have  the  Friendship  of  some  few  of  the 
Creek  Indians,  such  as  inhabit  near  the  Holbama  Fort : 
and  some  of  the  Chactaw  Indians  have  not  as  yet  de- 
clared against  them :  They  have  also  some  tribes  upon 
Missisippi  River,  and  Ouabash,  and  in  other  parts :  but 
most  of  these  and  all  other  Indians  whatsoever,  inhabit 
above  a  Thousand  miles  from  Charles-Town ;  and  yet 
it  may  be  proper  to  give  attention  even  to  what  happens 
among  those  who  are  so  far  from  us ;  for  to  an  Indian,  a 
thousand  miles  is  as  one  mile  their  Provisions  being  in 
the  Woods,  and  they  are  never  out  of  the  way :  they 
are  slow,  saying  the  Sun  will  rise  again  to-morrow,  but 
they  are  steddy. 

We  have  little  intercourse  with  the  French ;  but  un- 
less there  have  been  alterations  lately,  the  Accounts  I 
have  formerly  sent  may  be  relied  on,  there  are  not 
above  six  hundred  men  (Soldiers)  in  what  they  call 
Louisiana,  and  those  thinly  spread  over  a  widely  ex- 
tended Country  :  some  at  New  Orleans  some  at  Mobile, 
and  some  as  far  up  as  the  Ilinois. 

They  had  a  Fort  at  the  Mouth  of  the  Missisippi  river 
called  the  BaHse,  but  they  found  it  was  not  of  any  ser- 
vice, and  therefore  they  have  built  another  farther  up, 
where  it  commands  the  passage  :  their  Forts  Holbama, 
Chactawhatche,  Notche,  Notchitosh,  and  another  on 
Ouabash  are  all  inconsiderable  stockadoed  Forts,  garri- 
soned by  40  and  some  by  only  20  men  each.  If  ever 
the  French  settlements  on  the  Missippi'grow  great,  they 
may  have  pernicious  effects  upon  South  Carolina,  be- 
cause they  produce  the  same  sorts  of  Commodities  as 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  247 

are  produced  there,  viz :  Rice  and  Indigo  :  but  hitherto, 
the  only  Inconvenience  that  I  know  of,  is,  their  attempt- 
ing to  withdraw  our  Indians  from  us,  and  attacking  those 
who  are  most  attached  to  our  interest. 

I  beg  Leave  to  assure  you  that  I  shall  never  do  any 
thing  inconsistent  with  that  good  faith  which  is  the  basis 
of  all  his  Majesty's  Measures,  but  it  is  easy  for  me  at  pre- 
sent to  divert  the  French  in  their  own  way,  and  to  find 
them  business  for  double  the  number  of  men  they  have 
in  that  Country. 

However,  this,  and  even  the  Tranquility  of  South 
Carolina  will  depend  upon  preserving  our  Interest  with 
the  Indians,  which  it  will  be  very  difficult  to  do,  unless 
the  presents  are  continued  to  them,  and  those  Forts 
built  which  I  have  formerly  proposed,  or  at  least,  one  of 
them,  and  that  to  be  in  the  Country  of  the  Cherokees. 

The  two  next  sections  will  shew  what  a  great  increase 
there  hath  been  in  the  Trade  of  South  Carolina  since 
the  year  1710,  according  to  the  best  accounts  which 
could  be  met  with  after  much  Inquiry,  and  they  contain 
various  other  particulars  relating  to  the  Natural  Produce, 
Husbandry,  Coin,  Paper  Currency,  Inhabitants,  Prices 
of  Labour,  Rivers,  Sea-ports,  &c.  not  mentioned  in  the 
former  Sections.  The  account  of  Natural  Produce 
might  have  been  made  a  few  Lines  shorter  by  leaving 
out  such  Species  thereof  as  are  named  in  the  seventh 
Section,  but  that  would  have  made  this  account  much 
less  satisfactory :  especially  as  the  aboriginal  Species  of 
Produce  are  here  distinguished  from  those  which  have 
been  transplanted  to  South  Carolina  from  other  Coun- 
tries ;  which  many  persons  will  be  apt  to  think  a  neces- 
sary Distinction. 


248  A    DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


SECTION  IX. 

Species  of  Natural  Produce.)  Particulars  relating  to  the  Oul- 
ture,  Manufacture^  6^c.  of  Indian  Corn,  Rice,  Turpentine, 
Tar,  Pitch,  Oil  of  Turpentine,  Rosin  and  Silk :  Accounts 
of  their  Maritime  Trade — Paper  Currency,  Current  Coins, 
Taxes,  Prices  of  Labour,  <^c.     Written  in  the  Year  1710. 

NATURAL  PRODUCE. 
Roots,  Fruits,  Corn  and  Grain. 

South  Carohna  naturally  produces  black  Mulberries ; 
Walnuts  ;  Chesnuts  ;  Chincapins ;  which  are  small  Ches- 
nuts ;  Acorns,  of  five  or  six  sorts,  which  the  Indians, 
like  the  primitive  race  of  mankind,  make  use  of  for 
food ;  wild  Potatoes,  and  several  other  eatable  Roots ; 
wild  Plums ;  variety  of  Grapes  ;  Medlars ;  Huckle-ber- 
ries ;  Strawberries ;  Hasel-nuts ;  Myrtle-berries,  of 
which  Wax  is  made  ;  Cedar  berries  ;  Shumac  ;  Sasa- 
fras ;  China  root;  great  and  small  Snake  root;  with  a 
variety  of  other  physical  roots  and  herbs;  and  many 
flowers,  which  spring  up  of  themselves,  and  flourish  in 
their  kind,  every  season  of  the  year. 

Other  fruits,  and  several  sorts  of  Corn,  which  have 
been  transplanted  in  South  Carolina,  thrive  very  well 
there,  \iz :  White  Mulberries ;  Grapes,  from  the  Ma- 
deira Islands  and  other  Countries ;  all  sorts  of  English 
Garden  herbs ;  Potatoes,  of  six  or  seven  sorts,  and  all 
of  them_  very  good ;  Indian  Com,  three  sorts ;  Indian 
Pease,  of  five  or  six  sorts  ;  Indian  Beans,  several  sorts; 
Pumpions ;  Squashes  ;  Gourds ;  Pomelons ;  Cucum- 
bers; Muskmelons;  Watermelons;  Tobacco;  Rice  of 
three  or  four  Sorts ;    Oats  ;   Rye ;  Barley ;  and  some 


A    DESCRIPTION  OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA.  249 

Wheat,  tho'  not  much.  Their  other  Fruits,  are,  Apples ; 
Pears ;  Quinces  ;  Figs,  of  three  or  four  Sorts ;  Oranges ; 
Pomegranates ;  and  Peaches  of  14  or  15  sorts. 

Though  they  have  as  great  variety  of  good  Peaches, 
as  there  are  in  any  Country,  perhaps,  in  the  whole 
World,  yet  the  principal  use  made  of  them  is  to  feed 
Hogs ;  for  which  purpose  large  orchards  of  them  are 
planted.  The  Peach  trees  there,  are  all  standards ; 
they  yield  fruit  in  three  years  from  the  time  of  setting 
the  stone :  the  fourth  year  they  bare  plentifully :  and 
the  fifth,  are  large  spreading  trees.  Most  kinds  of 
British  Fruits,  prosper  best  up  in  the  Country  at  some 
distance  from  salt  water ;  Bnt  Fi^'s,  Peaches,  Pome- 
granates,  and  the  like  grow  best  nigh  the  sea.  Peaches, 
Nectaxines,  &c.  of  one  sort  or  other,  are  in  perfection 
from  20  June,  to  the  end  of  September. 

Neat  Cattle,  Hogs,  Shee'p,  c^c. 

South  Carolina  abounds  with  black  Cattle,  to  a  de- 
gree much  beyond,  any  other  English  Colony;  which 
is  chiefly  owing  to  the  mildness  of  the  Winter,  whereby 
the  Planters,  are  freed  from  the  charge  and  trouble  of 
providing  for  their  cattle,  suffering  them  to  feed  all  the 
Winter  in  the  Woods. 

These  creatures  have  mightily  increased  since  the 
first  settlement  of  the  Colony,  about  40  years  ago  :  It 
was  then  reckoned  a  great  matter  for  a  planter  to  have 
three  or  four  cows :  but  now,  some  people  have  a  thou- 
sand head  of  cattle,  and  for  one  man  to  have  two  hun- 
dred is  very  common.  They  likewise  have  hogs  in 
abundance,  which  go  daily  to  feed  in  the  woods,  and 
come  home  at  night.     Also  some  sheep  and  goats. 

32 


250  A  DESCRIPTION  OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Wild  Beasts,  cfc.  of  the  Forest. 

The  wild  Beasts  wMcli  the  woods  of  South  CaroHna 
afford  for  Profit  and  for  game,  are  Rabbits,  Foxes,  and 
Raccoons,  Possums,  Squirrels,  Wild  cats,  Deer,  Elks, 
Buffaloes,  Bears,  Tygers,  wild  Kine  and  wild  Hogs. 
Some  of  these  creatures  may  indeed  be  thought  danger- 
ous in  that  Country,  as  they  are  in  other  parts  of  the 
world  ;  but  the  Carolina  People  find  by  Experience  that 
every  sort  of  wild  Beast  there  will  run  from  a  man . 
the  fiercest  of  them  not  venturing  to  attack  any  larger 
or  better  defended  animals  than  Sheep,  Hogs  or  young 
Calves,  and  the  Devouring  of  some  of  these  is  all  the 
injury  sustained  by  wild  Beasts  there. 

Fowls,  Tame,  and  Wild. 

There  are  tame  Fowls  of  all  sorts ;  and  Great  variety 
of  wild  Fowl ;  the  sorts  of  wild  fowl  that  frequent  the 
inland  parts  of  the  Country,  are  Turkeys,  Geese,  Ducks, 
Pidgeons,  Patridges,  Brants,  Sheldrakes,  and  Teal :  the 
other  sorts  found  near  the  Sea,  are  Curlews,  Cranes, 
Herons,  Snipes,  Pelicans,  Gannetts,  Sea  larks,  and 
many  others. 

Fish  for  Sustinence,  or  for  Trade. 

The  Sea  Coast  is  full  of  Islands,  Sounds,  Bays,  Riv- 
ers, and  Creeks,  which  are  well  stored  with  great  va- 
riety of  Excellent  Fish  :  the  most  common  whereof  are, 
Bass,  Drum,  Whitings,  Trouts,  Herrings,  Mullets, 
Rocks,  Sturgeons,  Shads,  Sheepheads,  Plaice,  Floun- 
ders, small  Turtel,  Crabs,  Oysters,  Muscles,  Cockles, 
Shrimps,  &c,  the  other  sorts  of  Fish  common  there  and 


A    DESCRIPTION   OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA.  251 

not  eaten,  are  Whales,  Grampoises,  Porpouses,  Sharks, 
Dog  Fish,  Garb,  Stingrays,  Saw  Fish,  Fiddlers,  and 
Perewinkles. 

Timber,  cfc.  Trees. 

The  uncultivated,  part  of  South  Carolina  may  be  call- 
ed one  continued  Forest,  well  stocked  with  Oaks  of 
several  sorts,  Chesnut,  Walnut,  Hickery,  Pine,  Fir  of 
several  Species,  Two  sorts  of  Cypress,  Cedar,  Poplar, 
or  the  Tulip  Tree,  Laurel,  Bay,  Myrtle,  Hasel,  Beech, 
Ash,  Elm,  and  variety  of  other  Sorts  of  Trees,  the  names 
of  which  are  scarcely  known. 

HUSBANDRY,  &c. 
Concerning  the  Produce  of  Indian  Corn. 

The  usual  Produce  of  an  Acre  of  Indian  Corn  is  from 
Eighteen  to  Thirty  bushels  and  six  Bushels  of  Indian 
Pease,  which  run  like  a  vine  among  the  Corn.  About  a 
Gallon  of  Indian  Corn  sows  an  acre. 

Concerning  the   Culture,  Produce,  and  Manufacture  of 

Rice. 

Rice  is  sowed  in  furrows  about  Eighteen  Inches  dis- 
tant :  a  peck  usually  sows  an  Acre,  which  yields  seldom 
less  than  thirty  bushels,  or  more  than  sixty  bushels,  but 
generally  between  these  two  according  as  the  land  is 
better  or  worse.  Rice  is  cleaned  by  mills  turned  by 
Horses  or  Oxen.  The  Planters  in  this  Colony  sow  much 
Rice,  not  only  because  it  is  a  vendable  commodity,  but 
thriving  best  in  low  moist  lands,  it  inclines  people  to  im- 
prove that  sort  of  ground,  which  being  planted  a  few 


252       A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

years  with  Rice,   and  then  laid  fallow,   it  tnrns  to  the 
best  Pasture. 

Concerning  the  Extraction,  Preperation,  <^c.  of  Turpen- 
tine, Tar,  Pitch,   Oil  of  Turpentine  and  Rosin. 

The  five  sorts  of  Commodities  kno\\Ti  by  these  names 
are  all  extracted  from  a  Species  of  Pine  Tree,  called 
the  Pitch  pine,  and  may  rather  be  said  to  be  one  and  the 
same  thing  mider  different  modes  of  preparation,  than 
five  different  sorts  of  Commodities,  because  they  are  all 
included  in  the  Gum  or  Resin  of  the  Pine  Tree. 

Turpentine  is  the  Gum  in  the  liquid  state,  extracted  by 
Incision  and  the  Heat  of  the  Sun  while  the  Tree  is 
growing. 

Oil  of  Turpentine  is  obtained  by  the  Distillation  of 
Turpentine. 

Rosin  is  the  Residum,  or  Remainder  of  such  Turpen- 
tine, after  the  oil  is  distilled  from  it. 

Tar  is  the  Gum  in  a  liquid  State,  but  forced  out  by  a 
proper  degree  of  confined  fire  heat  after  the  Tree  is 
cut  down,  split  in  pieces  and  dried. 

Pitcli  is  the  Solid  part  of  Tar,  seperated  from  the 
liquid  part  by  boiling. 

Turpentine  is  obtained  by  cutting  channels  in  the 
standing  Green  Trees,  so  as  to  meet  in  a  point  at  the 
foot  of  the  Tree  where  a  box  or  several  pieces  of  board 
are  fitted  to  receive  it :  The  channels  are  cut  as  high 
as  a  man  can  reach  with  an  axe,  and  the  bark  is  peeled 
off  from  those  parts  of  the  Tree  which  are  exposed  to 
the  sun,  that  the  heat  of  it  may  more  easily  di'aw  out  the 
Turpentine.  The  process  of  extracting  Tar  is  as  fol- 
loweth. — First  they  prepare  a  circular  floor  of  clay,  de- 
clining a  little  towards  the  centre ;    from  Avhich  there  is 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  253 

laid  a  pipe  of  wood,  extending  near  horizontally,  two 
feet  without  the  Circumference,  and  so  let  into  the 
ground  that  its  upper  side  is  near  level  with  the  floor ; 
at  the  outer  end  of  this  pipe  they  dig  a  hole  large  enough 
to  hold  the  Barrels  for  the  Tar,  which  when  forced  out  of 
the  wood  naturally  runs  to  the  centre  of  the  Floor  as  the 
lowest  part,  and  from  thence  along  the  pipe  into  the  bar- 
rels ;  These  matters  being  first  prepared,  they  raise  upon 
that  clay  floor,  a  large  pile  of  dry  pine  wood,  split  in 
pieces,  and  enclose  the  whole  pile  with  a  wall  of  earth, 
leaving  only  a  little  hole  at  the  top,  where  the  fire  is  to 
be  kindled ;  and  when  that  is  done,  so  that  the  inclosed 
wood  begins  to  burn,  the  whole  is  stopped  up  with  earth; 
to  the  end  that  there  may  not  be  any  flame,  but  only 
heat  sufficient  to  force  the  tar  out  of  the  wood  and  make 
it  run  down  to  the  floor :  they  temper  the  heat  as  they 
think  proper,  by  thrusting  a  stick  through  the  earth  and 
letting  the  air  in,  at  as  many  places  as  they  find  neces- 
sary. 

Concerning  the  Breeding  of  Silh-Worms  and  the  produc- 
tion of  Silk. 

Silk  Worms  in  South  Carolina  are  hatched  from  the 
Eggs  about  the  sixth  of  March ;  Nature  having  wisely 
ordained  them  to  enter  into  this  new  form  of  being,  at 
at  the  same  time  that  the  mulberry  leaves,  which  are 
their  Food,  begin  to  open.  Being  attended  and  fed 
six  weeks,  they  eat  no  more,  but  have  small  bushes  set 
up  for  them,  where  they  spin  themselves  into  Balls, 
which  are  thrown  into  wanu  water  and  then  the  Silk 
is  wound  off"  them. 


254  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

MARITIME  TRADE. 

The  Trade  between  South  Carolina  and  Great  Bri- 
tain, one  year  with  another,  employs  Twenty  two  Sail 
of  Ships.  Those  Ships  bring  from  Great  Britain  to 
South  Carolina  all  sorts  of  Wollen  Cloths,  Stuffs,  and 
Drug-getts;  Linens,  Hollands,  Printed  Calicoes  and 
Linens  ;  Silks  and  Muslins  ;  Nails  of  all  sizes.  Hoes, 
Hatchetts,  and  all  kinds  of  Iron-wares  ;  Bedticks,  Strong 
Beer,  Bottled  Cider,  Raisins,  Fine  Earthern  wares. 
Pipes,  Paper,  Rugs,  Blankets,  Quilts ;  Hats  from  28  to 
12s.  price ;  Stockings  from  1  to  8s.  price ;  Gloves ;  Pewter 
Dishes  and  Plates ;  Brass  and  Copper  wares ;  Guns,  Pow- 
der, BuUetts,  Flints,  Glass  Beads,  Cordage,  Wollen  and 
Cotton  cards,  Steel  Hand  mills,  Grind-stones ;  Looking 
and  Drinking  Glasses ;  Lace,  Thread  coarse  and  fine ; 
Mohair,  and  all  Kinds  of  Trimmings  for  Cloaths,  Pins, 
Needles,  &c. 

In  return  for  these  commodities  and  manufactures 
there  are  seM  from  South  Carolina  to  Great  Britain 
about  seventy  thousand  Deerskins  a  year ;  some  Furs, 
Rosin,  Pitch,  Tar,  Raw  Silk,  Rice  and  formerly  Indigo : 
But  all  these  not  being  sufficient  to  pay  for  European 
Goods,  and  negro  Slaves  with  which  the  English  Mer- 
chants are  continually  supplying  the  South  Carolina 
people.  The  latter  likewise  send  to  England  for  some 
Cocoa  nuts  ;  Sugar,  Tortoise  shell.  Money,  and  other 
things  which  they  have  from  the  American  Islands,  in 
return  for  the  provisions  they  send  there. 

Besides  the  twenty  two  sail  of  Ships  which  trade  be- 
tween South  Carolina  and  Great  Britain,  as  before  men- 
tioned ;  there  enter  and  clear  annually  at  the  Port  of 
Charles-Town,  about  Sixty  sail  of  Ships,  Sloops,  and 
Brigantines,  which  are  employed  in  carrying  on  the 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  255 

after  named  branches  of  Trade,  between  South  Caro- 
lina and  other  Countries. 

The  Trade  between  South  Carolina  and  Jamaica,  Barha- 
does,  the  British  Leeward  Islands,  the  Island  of  St. 
Thomas,  (a  Danish  Sugar  Colony),  and  Curaso  {a 
Dutch  Sugar  Colony). 

The  Commodities  sent  from  South  Carolina  to  those 
Places,  are,  beef,  Pork,  Butter,  Candles,  Soap,  Tallow, 
Myrtle  wax  candles.  Rice,  some  Pitch  and  Tar,  cedar 
and  pine  boards,  Shingles,  Hoop  Staves  and  Heads  for 
Barrels. 

The  Commodities  sent  in  return,  from  those  places  to 
South  Carolina,  are  Sugar,  Rum,  Melasses,  Cotton, 
Chocolate  made  up,  Cocoa  Nuts,  Negro  Slaves,  and 
Money. 

The  Trade  hetweeyi  South  Carolina  and  New   England, 
New  Yorh   and  Pennsilvania. 

The  Commodities  sent  from  South  Carolina  to  other 
Northern  Colonies,  are  tanned  hides,  small  Deer  Skins, 
Gloves,  Rice,  Slaves  taken  by  the  Indians  in  War,  some 
Tar  and  Pitch. 

The  Commodities  sent  in  return  from  those  other 
Northern  Colonies,  to  South  Carolina  are,  Wheat,  Flour, 
Biscuit,  Strong  Beer,  Cyder,  Salted  Fish,  Onions,  Ap- 
ples, Hops. 

The  Trade  between  South  Carolina  and  the  Maderia,  and 
Western  Islands  {belonging   to  Portugal.  ] 

The  Commodities  sent  from  South  Carolina  to  those 
Islands,  are,  Beef,  Pork,  Butter,  Rice,  Casks,  Staves, 
Heading  for  Barrels,  &c. 


256       A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

The  Commodities  sent  in  return  from  those  Islands 
to  South  Carolina,  are  Wines.  N.  B.  The  Salt  used 
in  South  Carolina  is  brought  from  the  Bahama  Islands. 
From  Guinea,  and  other  parts  of  the  Coast  of  Africa, 
Negroe  Slaves  are  imported  into  South  Carolina ;  But 
the  Ships  which  bring  them  there,  being  sent  from  Eng- 
land with  effects  to  purchase  them,  the  Carolina  Re- 
turns for  the  same  are  sent  thither. 

PAPER  CURRENCY. 

Daring  the  former  part  of  Queen  Anne's  War,  the  In- 
habitants of  South  Carolina  Exerted  themselves  very 
much  in  defence  of  that  Colony,  not  onlj^  bj  fortifying 
Charles-Town,  and  building  a  fort  to  command  the  en- 
trance of  Ashley  river,  but  by  undertaking  several  Ex- 
peditions against  the  Spaniards  and  Indians  in  Florida, 
&c.  the  charges  of  all  which  Fortifications  and  expedi- 
tions, brought  the  South  Carolina  People  so  much  in 
debt,  that  their  Assembly  finding  it  was  in  vain  to  strug- 
gle with  difficulty,  by  raising  annual  taxes,  W7hicli 
could  not  have  been  levied  soon  enough  to  answer  the 
present  exigency  they  came  to  the  detennination  to  strike 
Bills  of  Credit;  at  first,  for  about  six  thousand  Pounds, 
and  ha™ghad  experience  of  them,  they  afterwards  is- 
sued more,  to  the  amount  often  thousand  Pounds. 

By  the  laws  which  established  those  bills  of  Credit, 
their  Currency  was  secured ;  to  proffer  any  Payment 
with  them  was  a  tender  in  Law,  so  that,  if  the  creditor 
refused  to  take  them  he  lost  his  money,  and  tlie  Debtor 
was  discharged  from  the  minute  of  such  refusal ;  but 
they  had  not  any  instance  of  that  kind,  the  Funds  upon 
which  those  bills  were  charged  being  so  good,  that  they 
Passed  in  all  paj^ments  without   any   demur  or  disatis- 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  257 

faction.  The  first  issued  of  those  Bills  had  an  inter- 
est of  Twelve  per  cent,  per  Annum  annexed  to  them; 
but  upon  making  the  second  parcel  of  them,  the  Assem- 
bly was  sensible  of  the  great  inconvenience  of  this  me- 
thod. For  it  not  only  made  the  Currency  of  them  more 
difficult,  by  reason  of  the  endorsements,  and  computing 
the  times  they  had  been  in  the  Treasury  ;  but  gave  the 
Treasurer  an  opportunity  of  injuring  the  Public,  by  giv- 
ing Credit  for  that  time  he  thought  fit,  as  often  as  they 
come  into  his  hands.  Besides,  the  interest  gave  encour- 
agement to  people  to  hoard  them,  which  was  a  common 
prejudice,  by  keeping  so  great  a  part  of  the  cash  [paper 
money]  from  circulating  in  Trade,  and  lastly  this  de- 
vouring rate  of  Interest  was  such  a  constant  addition  to 
the  public  debt,  that,  if  continued,  it  would  have  made  it 
impossible  to  sink,  (pay)  the  Bills  in  any  reasonable 
time,  unless  by  burthensome  Taxes. 

For  these  several  reasons,  the  Assembly  enacted,  that 
from  that  time  forward,  the  Bills  of  Credit  should  run  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  as  they  had  done,  but  without 
bearing  any  interest  at  all ;  and  the  people  quickly  found 
the  benefit  of  it ;  For  this  both  eased  the  public  of  a 
great  burthen ;  and  made  the  Bills  circulate  more  in 
Trade,  and  with  less  difficulty  among  the  common  peo- 
ple. The  Assembly  indeed,  by  this  Act,  exposed  them- 
selves to  the  censure  of  those  who  little  regarded  the 
Public  so  long  as  their  own  private  Interest  was  ad- 
vanced; but  they  wisely  considered  that  saving  the 
Public  Two  Thousand  Pounds  a  year  was  more  to  be 
regarded,  than  gratifying  the  unreasonable  avarice  of 
some  particular  persons,  and  such  is  the  opinion  of  their 
Integrity,  as  well  as  of  the  ability  of  the  Colony,  that 
those  Bills  never  had  yet  circulated  for  less  value  than 
they  were  issued. 

33 


258  A    DESCEIPTION    OF    SOUTH  CAEOLINA. 


CURRENT  COINS.     - 

Besides  those  Bills  of  Credit,  or  paper  currency,  there 
are  various  sorts  of  gold  and  silver  coins  circulating  in 
South  Carolina,  the  most  Common  of  those  Coins  are, 
French  Pistoles,  Spanish  and  Arabian  Gold,  all  of  which 
passed  at  six  shillings,  and  three  pence  the  penny  v^eight, 
and  three  pence  every  odd  grain,  before  the  currency  of 
money  in  English  Colonies  was  regulated  by  an  English 
Law;   and  before  that  regulation  took  place,  the  several 
sorts  of  silver  coin  current  in  South  Carolina  were  receiv- 
ed and  paid  at  the  following  rates ;  viz  : — Dutch    and 
German  Dollars,  and  Peruvian  Pieces  of  Eight,  passed  at 
Five  Shillings  each ;  Mexican  Pieces  of  Eight,  weigh- 
ing twelve  penny  weight  went  at  the   same  rate,  and 
for  every  penny  weight  above  twelve  to  seventeen,  that 
those  last  pieces  weighed,  three  pence  half-penny  more 
was   allowed:  other  Pieces  of  Spanish  Silver  Money, 
commonly  called  Ryals  and  half  Ryals  were   current, 
the  former  at  seven  pence  half  penny,  and  the  latter  at 
three  pence  half  penny.     There  was  not  much  English 
money  among  them,  but  what  they  had,  passed  [Anno. 
1710]  at  Fifty  per  cent,  advance  :   that  is  a  crown  at  sev- 
en Shillings  and  sixpence  ;  a  Guinea  at  thirty  two  shil- 
lings three  pence  ;  and  so  in  proportion.     Conformable 
to  those  rates  of  currency  of  English  Coins,  the  course 
or  rate  of  Exchange  between  South  Carolina  and  Eng- 
land in  the  year  1710,  was  £150,  South  Carolina  Cur- 
rency for  £100  sterling. 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA.  259 

TAXES  &c. 

There  are  not  at  present  in  South  Carolma  any  taxes 
upon  either  real  or  personal  Estate ;     the  Public  Reve- 
nues being  all  raised  by  duties  laid  upon  every  sort  of 
Spiritous  Liquors,  Wines  and  other  liquors  ;  upon  Sugar, 
Melasses,  Flour,  Biscuit,  Negroe   Slaves,  &c.  upon   all 
dry  goods  imported,  Three  per  cent,  and  upon  all  Deer 
Skins  exported,  three  pence  per  skin.   These  several  du- 
ties have  of  late  produced  about  Four  thousand  Five  hun- 
dred Pounds  per  Annum ;  out  of  which  the  yearly   dis- 
bursments,  for  Charges  of  Government,  are  as  follows  : 
■  Stipends  to  Ten  Ministers  of  the  Church  of 

England £1,000 

For  finishing  and  preparing  Fortifications  .  .       1,000  , 
For  the  Officers  and  Soldiers  doing  duty   in 

Forts 600 

To  the  Governor 250 

For  Militai-y  Stores 300 

Accidental  Charges 400 

Total 3,500 

Which  sum  being  taken  out  of 4,500 


There  will  remain  yearly 1,000 

to  cancel  Bills  of  Credit  to  that  amount. 

INHABITANTS. 

The  Proportions  which  the  several  sorts  of  People 
inhabiting  South  Carolina  bore  to  each  other,  as  to  em- 
ployment and  National  distinction. 


260  A  DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

Of  the  White  People. 

The  Planters  were 8J^ 

The  Traders .  .   IJ  >of  12  Parts 

The  Artisans 2   J 

Of  all  the  Inhabitants. 

The  White  People  were •  12"| 

The  Indian  Subjects 66  >of  100  Parts 

The  Negroe  Slaves 22  J 

The  proportions  which  the  several  sorts  of  White  Peo- 
ple inhabiting  South  Carolina  bore  to  each  other  as  to 
matters  of  Religion. 

The  Episcopal  Party 4j^ 

The  Presbyterians   including  those       | 

French  who    retain  their    own  Dis-       (    r  i  r>  n    <. 
•  V  ,-,   Vof  10  Parts 

cipime .  4.4^  ' 

The  Ana  Baptists 1 

The  Quakers J 

PRICES  OF   LABOUR. 

Per  Day  Currency. 

To  a  Taylor      -----     5  shillings 

"  a  Shoemaker    -     -     -     -     2  shilling  6  pence 

"  a  Smith  ------     7       "         6      " 

"  a  Weaver     -----     3       " 

"  a  Bricklayer     -     -     -     -     6       " 

"  a  Cooper 4       " 

Carpenters    and    joiners  have  from  Three  to  Five 
shillings  a  Day. 

A  Labourer  hath  from  one  shilling  and  3  pence  to  2s. 
a  Day,  with  Lodging  and  Diet. 

Those  who  oversee  Plantations  have  from  Fifteen  to 
Forty  Pounds  per  Annum. 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.      261 

Such  as  are  employed  to  trade  with  the  Indians  have 
from  twenty  to  one  hmidred  pounds  a  year. 


SECTION  X. 

The  number  of  Inhabitants  ;  value  of  the  yearly  imports  ;  Ton- 
nage of  Shipping  and  price  of  Victualling ;  a  Description 
of  their  Rivers,  Seaports,  6fc.  about  the  year  1724. 

NUMBER   OF   INHABITANTS. 

The  number  of  white  People  in  South  Carolina,  inclu- 
ding Men,  Women  and  Children,  was  about  14.000 
in  the  year  1724 ;  and  the  number  of  Slaves  there  at 
that  time,  reckoning  men,  women  and  children  was  about 
32.000  mostly  Negroes. 

YEARLY  IMPORTS. 

In  the  year  1723,  the  Imports  into  South  Carolina 
amounted  in  Value  to  £120.000  Sterling,  at  the  first 
cost ;  and  had  not  for  four  years  before  been  of  less  than 
of  that  value.  This  Estimate  was  made  from  the  Ac- 
count books  kept  by  the  Collector  of  the  two  and  a  half 
per.  Cent,  duty  on  all  goods  imported  there  ;  and  if  any 
fraud  was  committed  under  reporting  to  him  the  value 
of  any  such  goods,  the  imports  of  those  years  were  of  so 
much  more  value  than  is  mentioned  here. 

Of  the  Commodities  and  Manufactures  so  imported 
into  South  Carolina  I  reckon  to  the  value  £100.000 
Sterling,  for  exports  from  Great  Britain  to  this  Colony ; 
and  for  Negroe  Slaves  brought  there  in  British  Ships  : 
the  other  20.000  Worth  of  those  imports,  I  take  to  be 


262  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

brought  in  their  own  or  other  trading  vessels  from  the 
West  India  Islands  and  Northern  Colonies. 

When  they  trade  at  any  of  the  French  Islands  they 
receive  some  money  along  with  the  Rum  and  Sugar 
they  bring  from  thence — I  have  known  a  small  Sloop 
bring  to  South  Carolina  from  Cape  Francois^  Three 
hundred  Pistoles  at  one  time,  besides,  Rum  Sugar  and 
Melasses,  all  which  were  the  produce  of  their  own  car- 
go e  only. 

SHIPPING    AND   VICTUALLING. 

The  quantity  of  British  Shipping  employed  by  means 
of  South  Carolina  is  not  less  than  Eight  Thousand 
tons : — And  I  cannot  estimate  the  Shipping  that  is 
owned  and  employed  by  the  Inhabitants  of  that  Colony 
at  less  than  seven  hundred  Tons.  The  shipping  at 
Charles-Town  are  supplied  all  the  year  round  with 
Beef,  at  less  than  seven  shillings  Sterling  per  Hundred 
pounds  weight. 

SEA  COAST,  RIVERS,  HARBOURS. 

South  Carolina  hath  seventy  Leagues  of  Sea  Coast, 
reckoning  from  Cape  Fear  Northward  to  the  River  May 
Southward. 

I  am  unacquainted  with  the  Depth  of  Water  in  all 
the  Rivers  to  the  Southward  of  Port  Royal,  though  I 
have  known  Sloops  sail  in  most  all  of  them ;  but  of  the 
other  Rivers  in  South  Carolina  I  can  speak  by  my 
own  experience,  and  therefore  shall  begin  with  Port 
Royal  River. 

That  river  hath  Depth  of  Water  enough  for  any 
ship  in  the  world,  in  or  out,  and  as  good  a  harbour  as 


A   DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH  CAROLINA.  263 

any  nature  hath  made,  sufficient  to  hold  and  contain 
all  the  Royal  Navy;  and  perhaps,  in  all  respects 
the  properest  place  for  Rendezvous  of  the  West  India 
Squadron  of  Men  of  War.  With  regard  to  its  situation 
for  any  Expedition  to  the  Windward  Islands  or  for 
speaking  with  any  Ships  coming  through  the  gulf  of 
Florida,  it  is  as  well  as  can  be  desired ;  for  nothing 
could  escape  the  sight  of  a  Cruiser  there. 

The  next  River  is  South  Edisto,  a  good  River  for 
Ships  and  Vessels  not  drawing  above  Twelve  Feet 
Water. 

North  Edisto  River  is  equally  good,  and  hath  a  clear 
entrance. 

Stono  Harbour  is  a  very  good  Harbour  for  any  vessel 
not  drawing  above  Eleven  Feet  Water. 

Charles-Town  Harbour  is  fit  for  all  vessels  that  do 
not  exceed  Fifteen  feet  draught. 

Sewee  and  Santee  Rivers  are  for  small  craft,  not 
drawing  more  than  Eight  or  nine  feet. 

Into  the  Port  of  Winyaw  there  is  a  Channel  Twelve 
Feet  deep,  as  I  have  lately  been  told. 

Cape  Fear  River,  alias  Clarendon  River  the  reputed 
boundary  between  North  and  South  Carolina,  is  a  very 
fine  bold  River  for  any  ship  in  fair  Weather ;  or  at  any 
other  time  for  Ships  not  exceeding  fifteen  or  sixteen 
Feet  Draught,  there  not  being  less  than  three  Fathom 
deep  at  low  Water  in  the  Worst  part  of  the  Channel. 
There  are  many  other  Rivers  and  Creeks  of  lesser 
Note,  but  these  are  all  large  Rivers,  some  of  them 
being  navigable  Forty  or  Fifty  miles  above  the  En- 
trances for  Ships  of  any  Burthen. 

The  Tide  flows  from  Five  to  Seven  Feet  high,  on  the 
Coast  of  South  Carolina. 


264      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

The  following  Representation  on  Behalf  of  the  Pro- 
vince of  South  Carolina,  and  of  the  Merchants  concerned 
in  the  trade  thereof;  was  made  at  the  begiDning  of  the 
last  War,  while  a  bill  was  depending  before  the  Honoura- 
ble House  of  Commons  to  prohibit  the  exportation  of 
Rice  and  other  Produce  from  North  America  in  order  to 
distress  the  then  Enemies  of  Great  Britain, 

It  contains  an  account  of  the  quantities  of  Rice  ex- 
ported from  South  Carolina  in  Twenty  years,  and  many 
interesting  particulars  relating  to  the  Rice  trade,  which 
make  it  a  valuable  and  necessary  supplement  to  the 
preceding  Description  of  that  Province,  because  the 
matters  treated  of  in  the  one  are  not  mentioned  in  the 
other,  though  both  relate  to  the  same  subject. 

The  Facts  therein  stated,  are  printed  conformably  to 
the  Manuscript  Copy :  but  the  other  part  of  the  matter 
appearing  to  have  been  hastily  put  together,  it  was 
thought  proper  to  alter  the  Expression  in  several 
Places,  and  to  free  it  from  a  number  of  improprieties, 
which  would  of  course  have  been  struck  out  if  the  Per- 
sons who  drew  up  the  Representation  had  afterwards 
taken  the  trouble  to  revise  it. 

The  Case  of  the  Province  of  South  Carolina,  and  of  the 
Merchants  concerfied  i?i  the  Trade  thereof ;  supposing  the 
present  Bill  to  Prevent  the  Exportation  of  Rice  to  be  passed 
into  a  Law. 

The  Inhabitants  of  South  Carolina  have  not  any 
Manufactures  of  their  own  but  are  supplied  from  Great 
Britain  with  all  their  Cloathing,  and  the  other  Manu- 
factures by  them  consumed,  to  the  Amount  of  One 
Hundred  and  Fifty  Thousand  Pounds  Sterling  per 
Annum. 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  265 

The  only  commodity  of  Consequence  produced  in 
South  CaroHna  is  Rice,  and  they  reckon  it  as  much 
their  staple  commodity,  as  Sugar  is  to  Barbadoes  and 
Jamaica,  or  Tobacco  to  Virginia,  and  Maryland  :  so  that 
if  any  Stop  be  put  to  the  Exportation  of  Rice  from 
South  Carolina  to  Europe,  it  will  not  only  render  the 
Planters,  there  incapable  of  paying  their  debts,  but  will 
also  reduce  the  Government  of  that  Province  to  such 
Difficulties  for  want  of  Money  as  at  this  present  preca- 
rious time  may  render  the  whole  Colony  an  easy  prey 
to  their  neighbouring  enemies,  the  Indians  and  Spani- 
ards^ and  also  to  those  yet  more  dangerous  Enemies 
their  own  Negroes  who  are  ready  to  revolt  on  the  first 
opportunity,  and  are  eight  times  as  many  in  number  as 
there  are  white  men  able  to  bear  Arms  ;  and  the  danger 
in  this  respect  is  greater  since  the  unhappy  Expedition  to 
St.  Augustine. 

From  the  year  1729,  when  his  Majesty  purchased  the 
Colony  of  South  Carolina,  the  Trade  of  it  hath  so  in- 
creased that  their  annual  exports  and  imports  of  late 
have  been  double  the  value  of  what  they  were  in  the 
said  year ;  And  their  exports  of  Rice  in  particular  have 
increased  in  a  Great  proportion,  as  will  appear  by  the 
following  state  of  the  Quantities  of  Rice  exported  from 
thence  in  twenty  years,  viz. 

From   1720  to    1729,  beinar  1    -d       i        i  • 

in  ^1.       1,  1  4.  \  Barrels  makmff 

lOyears,  the  whole  export  V     ..^^,   Tot.^ 

was  264,788  J  '  ^     ^ 

From  1730,  to   1739,  bein^  1    -d        i         i  • 

,  ^  ti,       T.  1  °.  {  Joarrels  making' 

10  years,  the  whole  export  V  ^      ^ 

was  499,525  J  ' 

So   that   the   last  ten  years  "j       -d        -i 

Exports  exceeded  the  for-  <■    ^^  J^^  Tons 

merby  235,037]  ' 

And  of  the  vast  quantities  of  Rice  thus   exported 

34 


266  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

scarcely  one  Fifteenth  part  is  consumed  either  in  Great 
Britain  or  in  any  part  of  the  British  Dominions,  so 
that  the  prod  nee  of  the  other  Fourteen  parts  is  clear 
gain  to  the  Nation :  whereas  allmost  all  the  Sugar  and 
one  Fourth  of  the  Tobacco  exported  from  the  British 
Colonies,  are  consumed  by  the  People  of  Great  Britain, 
or  by  British  Subjects,  from  wh  ence  it  is  evident,  that 
the  National  gain  arising  from  Rice  is  several  times  as 
great  in  Proportion  as  the  national  Gain  arising  from 
either  Sugar  or  Tobacco. 

This  year  in  particular,  we  shall  export  from  South 
Carolina  above  Ninety  Thousand  Barrels  of  Rice,  of 
which  quantity  there  will  not  be  Three  Thousand  bar- 
rels used  here,  so  that  the  clear  national  gain  upon  that 
Export  will  be  very  gre  at,  for  at  the  lowest  computation 
of  twenty  five  Shillings  Sterling  per  Barrel,  the  Eighty 
seven  thousand  barrels  exported  will  amount  in  value 
£108,750  at  the  first  hand,  whereto  there  must  be  added 
the  charge  of  Freight  &c.  from  South  Carolina  to  Eu- 
rope, which  amount  to  more  than  the  first  cost  of  the 
Rice,  and  are  also  gain  to  Gre^at  Britain :  so  that  the  least 
gain  upon  this  article  for  the  present  year  will  be  £220,- 
000  over  and  above  the  Naval  advantage  of  annually 
employing  more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  Ships,  of 
one  hundred  Tons  each. 

Rice  being  an  enumerated  Commodity,  it  cannot  be 
exported  from  South  Carolina  without  giving  bond  for 
double  the  Value,  that  the  same  shall  be  landed  in  Great 
Britain,  or  in  some  of  the  British  Plantations,  excepting 
to  the  Southward  of  Cape  Finisteere ;  which  last  was 
permitted  by  a  Law  made  in  the  year  1729 ;  and  the 
Motive  for  such  permission  was,  that  the  Rice  might  ar- 
rive more  seasonably  and  in  better  condition  at  Market. 

We  have  hereunto  subjoined  an  account  of  the  seve- 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  267 

ral  Quantities  of  Rice  :which  have  been  exported  from 
South  Carolina  to  the  different  European  Markets  since 
the  said  law  was  made ;  and  it  will  thereby  appear  that 
we  have  not  in  those  ten  years  been  able  to  find  sale 
for  any  considerable  quantity  in  Spain,  for  in  all  that 
time  we  have  not  sold  above  3,570  barrels  to  the  Span- 
iards, making  only  357  Barrels  annually  upon  a  medi- 
um, nor  can  we  for  the  time  to  come  expect  any  alter- 
ation in  favor  of  our  Rice  trade,  there  because  the 
Spaniards  are  supplied  with  an  inferior  sort  of  Rice 
from  Turkey,  &-c.  equally  agreeable  to  them,  and  a 
great  deal  cheaper  than  ours ;  the  truth  whereof  ap- 
pears by  the  Rice  taken  in  the  Ship  called  the  Ba,ltic 
Merchant,  and  carried  into  St.  Sebastian's,  where  it  was 
sold  at  a  price  so  much  under  the  market  rate  here  or  in 
Holland,  as  to  encourage  the  sending  of  it  from  thence 
to  Holland  and  Hamburgh. 

In  France,  the  importation  of  Carolina  Rice  without 
Licence  is  prohibited ;  and  though  during  the  last  and 
present  years,  there  hath  by  permission  been  some  con- 
sumption of  it  there,  yet  the  whole  did  not  exceed  9,000 
Barrels  ;  and  they  have  received  from  Turkey  so  much 
Rice  of  the  present  year's  growth  as  to  make  that  Com- 
modity 5s  Sterling  per  cent.  lb.  cheaper  at  Marseilles 
than  here  ;  and  even  at  Dunkirk  it  is  one  Shilling  and 
six  per  cent.  lb.  cheaper  than  here  so  that  there  is  not 
any  prospect  of  a  demand  for  Carolina  Rice  in  France, 
even  if  Liberty  could  be  obtained  for  sending  the  same 
to  any  part  of  that  Kingdom.  Germany  and  Holland 
are  the  countries  where  we  find  the  best  markets  for 
our  Rice,  and  there  the  far  greater  part  of  it  is  con- 
sumed; so  that  the  present  intended  Embargo,  or  pro- 
hibitory Law,  cannot  have  any  other  effect  in  relation 
to  Rice,  than  that  of  preventing  our  allies  from  using 


268  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

what  our  Enemies  do  not  \vant,  nor  we  ourselves  con- 
sume more  than  a  twentieth  part  of;  and  which  is  of  so 
perishable  a  nature,  that  even  in  a  cold  climate  it  doth 
not  keep  above  a  year  without  decaying,  and  in  a  warm 
climate  it  perishes  intirely. 

The  great  consumption  of  Rice  in  Germany  and  Hol- 
land, is  during  the  Winter  season,  when  pease  and  all 
kinds  of  pulse,  &c.  are  scarce  ;  and  the  Rice  intended 
for  those  markets  ought  to  be  brought  there  before  the 
Frost  begins  time  enough  to  be  carried  up  the  Rivers  : 
so  that  preventing  the  exportation  only  a  few  days  may 
be  attended  with  this  bad  consequence,  that  by  Frost 
the  Winter  sale  may  be  lost. 

And  as  we  have  now  viz  : — since  the  11  Nov.  above 
10,000  Barrels  of  old  Rice  ptrrived,  so  we  may  in  a  few 
weeks  expect  double  that  quantity,  besides  the  new 
Crop  now  shipping  off  from  Carolina  ;  the  stopping  of  all 
which  in  a  country  where  there  is  not  any  sale  for^  it, 
instead  of  permitting  the  same  to  be  carried  to  the  only 
Places  of  consumption,  must  soon  reduce  the  price  there- 
of to  so  low  a  rate,  that  the  Merchants  who  have  pur- 
chased that  Rice  will  not  be  able  to  sell  it  for  the  prime 
cost ;  much  less  will  they  be  able  to  recover  the  money 
they  have  paid  for  duty  freight  and  other  charges  there- 
on, which  amount  to  double  the  first  cost,;for  the  Rice 
that  £100  will  purchase  in  South  Carolina  costs  the  im- 
porter £200  more  in  British  Duties,  Freight,  and  other 
Charges.  Thus  it  appears,  that  by  prohibiting  the  ex- 
portation of  Rice  from  this  Kingdom,  the  merchants  who 
have  purchased  the  vast  quantities  before  mentioned, 
will  not  only  lose  the  money  it  cost  them,  but  twice  as 
much  more  in  duties.  Freight  and  other  charges,  by  their 
having  a  perishable  Commodity  embargoed  in  a  coun- 
try where  it  is  not  used. 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  269 

Or  if  instead  of  laying  the  prohibition  here,  it  be  laid 
in  South  Carolina ;  that  Province,  the  Planters  there, 
and  the  Merchants  who  deal  with  them,  must  all  be  in- 
volved in  Ruin.  The  Province,  for  want  of  means  to 
support  the  Government.  The  Planters,  for  want  of 
means  to  pay  their  debts  and  provide  future  supplies  : 
and  the  Merchants,  by  not  only  losing  those  debts,  but 
twice  as  much  more,  in  the  Freight,  Duties,  and  other 
charges  upon  Rice  which  they  cannot  sell. 

So  that  in  either  case  a  very  profitable  Colony,  and 
the  Merchants  concerned  in  the  Trade  of  it,  would  be 
ruined  for  the  present,  if  not  totally  lost  to  this  King- 
dom, by  prohibiting  the  exportation  of  Rice :  and  all 
this  without  doing  any  National  good  in  another  way, 
for  such  Prohibition  could  not  in  any  shape  distress  our 
Enemies. 

It  is  therefore  most  humbly  hoped  that  Rice  will  be 
excepted  out  of  the  bill  now  before  the  Honourable 
House  of  Commons. 

An  Account  of  the  Quantities  of  Rice  which  have  been  exported 
from  the  Province  of  (South  Carolina  loithin  \Q  years  from 
1730  to  1739  ;  distinguishing-  the  Total  Quantity  sent  to 
each  of  the  Countries  or  Dominions  whereunto  the  same 
was  exported. 

Barrels. 

To  Portugal  in  all         -         -         -         -        83,379 

"    Gibralter 958 

"    Spain 3,570 

"    France,  only  the  last  Two  years  at 

most  9,500 

^'  Great  Britain,  Ireland  and  the  British 
Plantations — ^by  the  largest  calcu- 
lation cannot  exceed        -        -         30,000 


270  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

To  Holland,  Hambui'gh,  and  Bremen,  in- 
cluding about  7.000  barrels  to 
Sweden  and  Denmark         -         -     372.118 


The  total  Exported  in  these  Ten  Years,     499,525 


The  following  Extract  is  inserted  to  shew  by  what 
means  that  profitable  commodity  Rice  came  to  be  first 
planted  in  South  Carolina ;  for  as  it  was  not  done  with 
any  previous  Prospect  of  Gain,  but  owing  to  a  lucky 
accident,  and  a  private  experiment,  many  Persons  will 
naturally  be  desirous  of  knowing  the  several  circum- 
stances relating  to  an  affair  so  fortunate  to  this  Kingdom, 
and  it  may  serve  as  a  new  instance  of  the  great  share 
this  accident  hath  had  in  making  discoveries  for  the 
benefit  of  Mankind. 

The  production  of  Rice  in  South  Carolina  which  is 
of  such  prodigious  Advantage  was  owing  to  the  follow- 
ing Accident. 

A  Brigantine  from  the  Island  of  Madagascar,  happened  to  put  into 
that  Colony  : — They  had  a  little  Seed  Rice  left,  not  exceeding  a  Peck 
or  Quarter  of  a  Bushel,  which  the  Captain  offered  and  gave  to  a  Gen- 
tleman by  the  name  of  Woodward  : — from  a  Part  of  this  he  had  a 
very  good  Crop,  but  was  very  ignorant  for  some  years  how  to  clean 
it : — it  was  soon  dispersed  over  the  Province,  and  by  frequent  experi- 
ments and  observations,  they  found  out  ways  of  producing  and  manu- 
facturing it,  to  so  great  Perfection,  that  it  is  said  to  exceed  any  other 
Rice  in  value : — The  Writer  of  this  hath  seen  the  said  Captain  in  Caro- 
lina where  he  received  a  handsome  Gratuity  from  the  Gentlemen  of 
that  Country,  in  acknowledgement  of  the  Service  he  had  done  that 
Province. 

It  is  likewise  reported,  that  Mr.  Du  Bois,  Treasurer  of  the  East  India 
Company  did  send  to  that  Country  a  small  Bag  of  Seed  Rice,   some 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  271 

short  time  after ;  from  whence  it  is  reasonable  enough  to  suppose  there 
might  come  those  two  sorts  of  that  Commodity,  the  one  called  Red- Rice  in 
Contradistinction  to  the  White  Rice,  from  the  redness  of  the  inner 
husk  or  rind  of  this  Sort,  though  they  both  clear  and  become  alike 
White.  ■ 

The  writer  of  this  extract  hath  not  mentioned  the 
time  when  Rice  was  first  planted  in  South  CaroHna :  but 
it  appears  in  page  —  of  this  description,  that  Rice  was 
generally  Planted  in  that  Colony  in  the  year  1710,  and 
therefore  the  first  planting  of  it  must  have  been  about 
the  year  1700,  if  not  sooner. 


272 


A   DESCRIPTION  OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 


An  Account  of  the  Quantities  of  Raw  iSilk  which  have  been  im- 
ported from  North  and  /South  Carolina  into  Great  Britain 
within  twenty-five  years  from  1731  to  1755  ;  and  also  of  the 
Quantities  of  Wrought  Silk,  and  Tnixed  Silken  Stuffs  of  the 
Manufacture  of  Great  Britain  which  have  been  exported  frotn 
thence  to  North  and  South  Carolina  within  each  of  those  25 
years. 


IMPORTS. 

EXPORTS 

BRITISH  SILK  MANUPAC. 

YEARS. 

Raw  SUk. 

Silk 

Silk  with 

Silk  with 

Silk  with 

Wrought, 
pound  wt. 

Incle. 
pound  wt. 

Grogram. 
pound  wt. 

pound  wt. 

pound  wt. 

1731 

970 

774 
1015 

943 
1487 
1223 

691 
1111 
1273 
1454 
2798 

537 

892 

1341 

937 

864 

516 

790 

1177 

877 
1492 

2452 

1732 

1733 

1734 

1735 

1736 

1737 

1738 

1739 

1740 

1741 

440 

7 

1742 

18i 

1576 

13.50 

144 

1743 

1427 

1262 

122 

1744 

1035 

1296 

181 

1745 

544 

615 

184 

40 

1746 

929 

590 

330 

3 

1747 

1313 

2050 

386 



1748 

52 

1772 

1658 

155 

34 

1749 

46 

1772 

1065 

74 

1750 

118 

1519 

1258 

223 

50 

1751 

2404: 

1933 

291 

1752 

3365 

2860 

218 

7 

1753 

11 

3027 

2236 

190 

1754 

2682 

2300 

374 

150 

1755 

H 

3416 

2634 

337 

FINIS. 


POLITICAL  ANNALS 


OF    THE 


PROVINCE   OF    CAROLINA: 


FROM    THE 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  THE  UNITED  COLONIES, 


GEORGE    CHALMERS, 


35 


POLITICAL   ANNALS 


OF 


CAROLINA 


Attem'pts  prior  to  the  Restoration  to  settle  the  country  ; — hy  the 
French  ; — hy  the  English. — An  emigration  from  Massachu- 
sets. —  The  first  charter  granted. —  The  coast  acquires  the 
name  of  Carolina. — First  transactions  of  the  'proprietaries. — 
A  second  charter  obtained. —  The  colony  languishes. — Funda- 
mental constitutions.  —  Reflections. — Albemarle  settled. — Its 
assembly. — Southern  colony  encouraged. — Discontents  in  Al- 
bemarle.— An  insurrection. —  Culpeper,  the  principal  insur- 
gent, tried  in  England. —  Observations. —  Government  re- 
established.— SotheVs  admi/iistration  ; — atid  banishment. — 
Emigratioris  to  South  Carolina. — Charles -Town  founded. — 
An  Indian  war. — A  parliament  convened. — Pirates  encour- 
aged.— Invasion  of  the  Spaniards. — An  attack  on  St.  Augus- 
tine meditated. — Remarks. — Factions. —  Their  consequences. 
— James  II.  proclaimed. — Acts  of  navigation  opposed. — A 
writ  of  quo-warranto  against  the  charter. — Administration 
of  Colleton. —  Usurpation  of  Sothel. —  The  fundamental  con- 
stitutions abrogated. 

That  level  region,  which  stretches  from  the  thirty-sixth 
degree  of  northern  latitude  to  Cape  Florida,  enjoys  the 
honour  of  being  the  first  theatre  on  which  the  three 
great  naval  powers  of  Europe,  Spain,  England,  and 
France,  contended  for  American  sovereignty.  And  their 
pretensions  and  disputes  arose  from  the  discoveries  of 
Columbus,  of  Cabot,  of  Verazzan ;  who,  being  all  Itali- 
ans, were  all  equally  strangers  in  the  countries,  whose 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  275 

renown  they  extended,  whose  commerce  they  enlarged. 
The  adventm^es  of  the  two  former  have  been  already  no- 
ticed. The  exploits  of  the  last  originated  in  the  anxiety 
of  Francis  I.  of  France  to  engage  in  every  enterprise  that 
could  confer  celebrity  on  his  name,  who  employed  him 
to  discover  shores  then  unknown  and  unoccupied.  And, 
during  the  years  1523-24-25,  Verazzan  explored,  with 
some  degree  of  accuracy,  the  coast  of  Florida ;  but  re- 
turned not,  alas!  to  enjoy  those  rewards  which  that 
munificent  prince  was  ever  happy  to  bestow  on  supe- 
rior genius  and  fortitude.  Yet  Francis,  any  more  than 
Elizabeth,  did  not  live  to  establish  any  permanent  co- 
lony of  his  subjects  in  the  New  World.  The  civil  trou- 
bles which  ensued  turned  the  ardour  of  the  French  from 
colonisation  to  objects  perhaps  less  salutary.  And  it 
was  not  till  the  year  1562,  that  the  illustrious,  but  unfor- 
tunate, statesman,  the  Admiral  Coligny,  in  order  at  once 
to  promote  the  interest  of  his  country,  and  to  form  an 
asylum  for  the  French  Protestants,  sent  a  colony  under 
the  conduct  of  Ribaud,  who  built  Fort-Charles  on  the 
river  Edisto.  A  larger  emigration,  composed  entirely 
of  the  same  sect,  was  led  thither,  in  1664,  by  Laudo- 
niere,  which  settled  on  the  river  May,  that  was  denomi- 
nated afterwards,  by  the  Spaniards,  St.  Matheo.  But 
this  people  not  only  observed  the  proceedings  of  the 
French  with  their  accustomed  jealousy,  but  detested 
their  religious  tenets  :  xind  a  croisade  was  soon  carried 
by  Menandez  to  the  western  world,  with  the  same  zeal 
and  folly  as  it  had  been  formerly  conducted  to  the  east ; 
in  order  at  once  to  destroy  the  heretics,  and  to  people 
Florida  with  genuine  Christians.  During  the  year 
1565,  the  Spaniards  massacred  the  French  with  the 
same  relentless  cruelty  as  they  had  atchieved  all  their 
American  conquests.   Yet  this  signal  act  of  barbarity  did 


276  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

not  rouse  the  indignation  of  France ;    because,  during 
the  moment  of  her  zeal,  she  did  not  consider  the  Hugo- 
nots  as  objects  of  her  pity.     One  man  alone,  the  Cheva- 
lier Gourgues,  had  the  sphit  to  revenge  the  hard  fate  of 
his  friends ;  who,  at  his  own  expence,  and  without  or- 
ders, conducted  a  faithful  band  against  their  persecu- 
tors, and,  during  the  year  1567,  retaliated  severely  those 
miseries  which  they  had  inflicted  on  others  without  re- 
morse.    But,  as  he  soon  after  evacuated  Florida,  be- 
cause his  sovereign,   blinded  by  bigotry,   did  not  avow 
his  enterprise,  his  countrymen  bade  it  a  final  adieu. ^  How 
often  are  nations,   as  w^ell  as  men,   prevented,  by  their 
momentary  fits  of  madness  or  of  faction,  from  perceiving 
the  true   interest  of  the  state,   or  regarding  its  glory ! 
Had  France  given   spirit  to   Coligny,  rather  than  re- 
pressed his  ardour,  had  she  protected  his  colony,  what 
a  vent  had  been  opened  for  those  humours  which  then 
corroded  the  body-politic ;    what  an  American  empire 
might  she  have  possessed  before  Virginia  had  a  name  ! 
Englishmen  may  perhaps  now  believe  what  they  have 
been  formerly  taught  to  discredit,  that  their  rivals  in  every 
laudable  pursuit  were  actually  the  first  occupiers  of  the 
northern  and  southern  extremities    of  North-America. 
Recent  events,  however,  have  in  some  measure  rendered 
problematical  what  seems  formerly  to  have  been  suffi- 
ciently evident,  whether  the  misconduct  of  that  nation 
was  unfortunate  or  happy  for  England.     The  Spaniards 
nevertheless  soon  regained  possession  of  Saint  Augus- 
tine. 

Elizabeth  imitated  the  wise  policy  of  Francis,  ra- 
ther than  the  bigotted  folly  of  Charles  IX.  in  rousing 
the  ardour  of  her  people,  and  directing  their  commer- 
cial enterprises  to  the  uses  of  the  state.  She  conferred 
the  before-mentioned  patents  of  discovery  and  colonisa- 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  277 

tion  on  "Gilbert  and  on  Raleigh.  And,  just  eighteen 
years  after  the  final  expulsion  of  the  French,  in  August, 
1585,  a  colony  sent  out  by  the  latter,  under  the  conduct 
of  Lane,  a  person  of  prudence  and  spirit,  landed  on  the 
isle  of  Roanoak,  situated  on  the  same  coast,  but  more 
northerly  than  the  settlements  for  which  France  and 
Spain  had  contended.  During  the  twelvemonth  that 
the  emigrants  remained,  they  discovered  the  rivers  to  be 
shallov/,  and  the  country  to  be  inhabited  by  men,  who 
''  lived  by  fishing  and  hunting  till  harvest,"  who  were 
extremely  powerful,  because,  thoiigh  badly  armed,  they 
were  numerous  and  brave. 

But  the   colonists  seem  not  to  have  been  provided 
with  what  was  necessary  to  maintain  them  long  in  a 
wilderness,  because   they  had  been  uninstructed  in  a 
project   so    new  and   uncommon.      What  was  of  still 
greater  importance,  they  seem  not  to  have  carried  with 
them  minds  prepared  to  encounter  every  difficulty  :  And 
being  visited  by  Drake,  so  renowned  in  naval  annals,  as 
he  returned  along  the  coast  from  the  destruction  of  St. 
Augustine,  they  deemed  it  prudent  to  desert  ''  that  para- 
dise of  the  world."  The  pious  among  them  remarked,  that 
the  misfortunes  which  they  had  encountered  were  judge- 
ments for  the  outrages  oflfered  to  the  natives,   w^ho  me- 
rited attention  because  they  were  entitled  to  the  rights 
of  men.     The  French  have  boasted,  that  they  alone  had 
found  the  secret  of  conciliating  the    affection  of  the 
tribes.     Yet  the  inclinations  of  all  governments  seem  to 
have  been  equally  good,   because  every  one  gave  in- 
structions to  treat  the  aborigines  with  kindness,  since 
they  wished  to  civilize  them.     The  emigrants  too  gene- 
rally disobeyed  these  salutary  commands,  because  they 
were  placed  in  a  singular  situation:  They  were  deemed 
enemies  by  the  natives,  because  they  were  strangers : 


278  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

They  enjoyed  no  common  language,  by  which  they 
could  profess  friendship,  or  communicate  their  inten- 
tions. And  the  tribes,  while  they  seem  to  have  prac- 
tised few  of  the  rules  of  morality,  were,  like  all  untutor- 
ed men,  extremely  revengeful,  and  therefore  prompt  to 
resent  supposed  injury,  because  they  felt  themselves 
brave.  A  fresh  emigration  arrived,  under  the  conduct  of 
Greenfield,  in  the  year  1587,  in  order  to  support  the 
former:  But  it  encountered  similar  dangers,  and  expired 
in  a  similar  manner.^  Thus  ended  the  exertions  of 
Raleigh  for  colonizing  Virginia;  which  proved  unsuc- 
cessful, because  the  enterprise  had  been  undertaken 
without  sufficient  information,  because  the  project  was 
new,  and  the  means  employed  were  not  equal  to  the 
end.  His  name  has  been  justly  celebrated,  because  his 
talents  and  adventures  added  renown  to  the  English 
nation;  and  his  fate  was  pitied,  because  it  was  severe, 
perhaps  undeserved. 

"When  Englishmen  recollected  the  misfortunes  of  their 
countrymen,  they  wished  not  to  tread  in  their  steps,  lest 
they  should  meet  with  the  same  success :  And  they 
formed,  therefore,  no  projects  for  planting  that  part  of 
the  Virginian  coast,  which  stretches  southward  from  the 
36th  degree  of  north  latitude,  till  the  beginning  of  the 
reign  of  Charles  I.  At  a  time  when  many  persons  of 
consideration  wished  to  form  colonies,  because  the  spirit 
of  emigration  ran  high,  Sir  Robert  Heath,  the  attorney- 
general  of  that  prince,  obtained  a  grant,  in  the  year 
1630,  of  that  region,  by  the  name  of  Carolana,  for  which 
mighty  nations  had  hitherto  contended  to  so  little  pur- 
pose. But  his  resolution  failed,  or,  his  attention  was 
drawn  to  other  objects  ;  and  he  seems  to  have  made  no 
one  effort  to  execute  the  powers  conferred  on  him.  At 
a  future  day  his  patent  was  declared  to  have  become 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  279 

void,  because  the  conditions  on  which  it  had  been 
granted  were  never  fulfilled.^  Nothing  could  be  more 
just  or  wise  :  It  is  only  to  be  regretted,  that  the  princi- 
ple of  that  decision  has  not  been  more  generally  extend- 
ed to  similar  cases,  and  more  steadily  applied. 

About  the  epoch  of  the  Restoration,  a  few  adventur- 
ers^ prompted  by  their  natural  disposition,  emigrated 
from  Massachusets,  and  settled  round  Cape  Fear.  It 
is  a  characteristic  of  the  Independents  to  consider 
themselves  as  bound  by  no  tie  to  their  native  land,  be- 
cause they  deride  the  maxims  which  knit  society  toge- 
ther. Their  tenets,  so  contrary  to  the  common  law  of 
England,  necessarily  lead  therefore  to  disunion,  to  dis- 
tractions, to  constant  change :  And  hence  the  various 
emigrations  from  that  colony  which  have  been  already 
noticed.  The  people  who  have  strongly  imbibed  their 
principles  are  already  undone.  Those  emigrants  seem 
to  have  carried  with  them,  to  their  new  settlement,  little 
except  their  habitual  prejudices  :  They  consider  mere 
occupancy,  with  a  transfer  from  the  natives,  without 
any  grant  from  the  king,  as  a  good  title  to  the  lands 
which  they  occupied :  They  deemed  themselves  entitled 
to  the  same  "  civil  privileges"  as  those  of  the  country 
whence  they  had  emigrated.  While  we  ought  to  ad- 
mire the  seeming  liberality  of  these  reasonings,  we  must 
not  approve  what  in  truth  leads  to  universal  anarchy. 
That  colonists  from  England,  carrying  with  them  their 
ancient  rights,  should  claim  former  privileges,  is  no 
less  just  in  theory  than  wise  in  practice ;  but  that  emi- 
grants from  Massachusets  should  deem  themselves  in- 
vested with  the  immunities  of  this  colony,  however  na- 
tural, is  not  so  consistent  with  the  general  jurisprudence 
of  the  state.  Mankind,  however,  placed  in  similar  situ- 
ations will  at  all  times  reason  alike :    And  such  will 


280  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

always  be  the  arguments  and  pretensions  of  the  Inde- 
pendents, in  whatever  cHme  they  inhabit;  because, 
being  of  the  essence  of  their  rehgion,  they  are  inculcat- 
ed with  the  milk  of  the  parent.  As  neither  the  climate, 
nor  the  lands,  where  they  settled,  were  equal  in  good- 
ness to  those  they  had  left,  as  the  waters  offered  not  the 
same  advantages  of  fishery,  as  they  yet  enjoyed  none 
of  the  benefits  of  neighbourhood,  these  men  for  some 
years  experienced  the  complicated  miseries  of  want. 
They  solicited  the  aid  of  their  countrymen.  And  the 
general-court,  with  an  attention  and  humanity  which  do 
it  the  greatest  honour,  ordered  an  universal  contribution 
for  their  relief'^  To  the  settlement  of  such  colonists 
may  be  fairly  traced  back  the  various  distractions  which 
afterwards  ensued.  For,  when  the  forms  of  a  govern- 
ment and  the  principles  of  a  people  are  contradictory 
to  each  other,  a  sad  scene  of  turbulence  necessarily 
opens,  which  must  close  in  consimilarity,  by  making 
both  coincide,  or  the  state  is  undone. 

The  country  which  had  been  denominated  Florida  by 
the  French  and  Spaniards,  by  the  EngHsh  Virginia,  at 
length  owed  its  final  settlement  as  much  to  the  rapa- 
city of  the  courtiers  of  Charles  II.  as  to  the  facihty  of 
a  prince,  who  wished  to  reward  those,  to  whom  he  was 
so  much  indebted,  with  a  liberality  that  cost  him  little. 
The  pretence,  which  had  been  used  on  former  occasions, 
of  a  pious  zeal  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  among 
a  barbarous  people,  who  inhabited  an  uncultivated 
county,  was  successfully  emplo/ed  to  procure  a  grant 
of  that  immense  region,  lying  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
between  the  thirty-sixth  degree  of  north  latitude  and 
the  river  Saint  Matheo.  On  the  24th  of  March,  1663, 
this  territory  was  erected  into  a  province,  by  the  name 
of  Carolina,  and  conferred  on  Lord  Clarendon,  Duke  of 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  281 

Albemarle,  Lord  Craven,  Lord  Berkeley,  Lord  Ashley, 
Sir  George  Carteret,  Sir  John  Colleton,  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  as  absolute  lords  proprietaries  for  ever :  saving 
the  sovereign  allegiance  due  to  the  crov^^n.  They  were 
invested  w^ith  as  ample  rights  and  jurisdictions  vs^ithin 
their  American  palatinate  as  any  bishop  of  Durham  enjoy- 
ed v/ithin  his  diocese.  And  the  present  charter  seems 
to  have  been  copied  from  that  of  Maryland,  so  extensive 
in  its  povi^ers  and  so  noble  in  its  privileges.  Whether 
this  fine  province  derived  its  name  from  Charles  IX.  of 
France,  or  Charles  II.  of  England,  has  been  formally 
debated  by  historians.  In  support  of  the  former  hypo- 
thesis no  evidence  has  been  produced;  the  present 
patent  demonstrates  the  latter.  When  the  privy-coun- 
cil, not  long  after,  considered  the  present  condition  of 
Carolina,  it  decided  that  all  former  grants  were  now 
void,  because  they  had  never  been  executed :  Giving  a 
reason  for  its  present  conduct,  which  shews  the  extent  of 
its  zeal;  "  that  the  proprietaries  ought  to  be  favoured."  ^ 
Animated  by  this  attention,  these  noblemen  held  their 
first  meeting  in  May,  1663,  in  order  to  agree  on  mea- 
sures for  executing  the  chief  purpose  of  their  patent. 
They  formed  a  joint  stock,  by  general  contribution,  for 
the  transporting  of  colonists,  for  the  payment  of  other 
considerable  expences  :  And  what  was  of  more  real  im- 
portance, because  it  more  effectually  promoted  their 
views,  they  published  "  proposals  to  all  that  will  plant 
in  Carolina,"  at  the  desire  of  "  the  New-England  Peo- 
ple "  before-mentioned.  They  declared :  That  all  per- 
sons, settling  on  Charles-river,  to  the  southward  of  Cape 
Fear,  shall  have  power  to  fortify  its  banks,  taking  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  king  and  submitting  to  the 
government  of  the  proprietaries  ;  that  the  emigrants  may 
present  to  them  thirteen  persons,  in  order  that  they  may 

36 


282  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

appoint  a  governor  and  a  council  of  six  for  three  years ; 
that  an  assembly,  composed  of  the  governor,  the  coimcil, 
and  deleofates  of  the  freemen,  should  be  called  as  soon  as 
the  circumstances  of  the  colony  would  allow,  with  power 
to  make  laws,  which  should  be  neither  contraiy  to  the 
laws  of  England  nor  of  any  validity  after  the  publication 
of  the  dissent  of  the  proprietaries  ;  that  every  one  should 
enjoy  the  most  perfect  freedom  in  religion ;  that,  during 
five  years,  every  freeman  should  be  allowed  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  and  fifty  for  every  servant,  paying 
only  one  halfpenny  an  acre ;  that  the  same  freedom 
from  customs,  which  had  been  conferred  by  the  royal 
charter,  should  be  allowed  to  every  one.  Such  then 
were  the  original  conditions  on  which  Carolina  was 
planted.^  And  thus  was  that  colony  established  upon 
the  broad  foundation  of  a  regular  system  of  freedom  of 
every  kind;  which  it  was  now  deemed  necessary  to 
offer  to  Englishmen,  to  induce  them  to  encounter  all  the 
difficulties  of  planting  a  distant  country,  covered  with 
forests,  inhabited  by  numerous  tribes,  to  endure  the 
dangers  of  famine  and  the  damps  of  the  climate.  For 
men  will  not  generally  leave  their  native  land,  however 
wretched,  unless  they  are  urged  by  the  strongest  incen- 
tives. 

As  early  as  the  year  1609  we  have  seen  a  small  co- 
lony sent  out  from  James-Town,  to  plant  Nansamond, 
the  most  southern  settlement  of  Virginia,  nearly  under 
the  thirty-sixth  degree  of  north  latitude.  As  the  abori- 
gines receded  from  the  vicinity  of  the  river,  the  planters 
naturally  followed  theh  tracks,  extendmg  their  planta- 
tions still  farther  southwestward,  into  the  bosom  of  the 
wilderness.  And  as  colonists  increased,  and  the  most 
desirable  situations  were  occupied,  they  traversed  the 
forests  till  they  met  with  the  streams,  which,  instead  of 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  283 

discharging  their  waters  into  the  capacious  Chesapeake, 
pursued  a  south-eastern  course,  and  flowed  into  the 
ocean. 

At  the  epoch  of  the  Carohnian  patent  of  1663,  a  small 
plantation  had  been  accordingly,  for  some  years,  estab- 
lished within  its  boundaries,  on  the  north-eastern  shores 
of  the  river  Chowan,  which  was  now  honoured  with  the 
name  of  Albemarle,  in  compliment  to  the  title  of  Monlc, 
who  had  gained  so  much  renown  by  restoring  a  king 
and  saving  three  kingdoms  from  destruction.  But,  as 
it  was  so  distant  from  the  seat  of  Virginian  government, 
the  inhabitants  yielded  little  obedience  to  its  power,  and 
had  lived  for  some  time  without  any  perceivable  rule. 
And  nothing  could  be  more  wise  than  the  appointment 
of  Sir  William  Berkeley,  the  governor  of  Virginia,  as 
general  superintendant  of  the  affairs  of  the  county  of 
Albemarle.  In  September,  1663,  he  was  empowered, 
by  the  proprietaries,  to  nominate  a  governor  and  council 
of  six,  who  were  authorised  to  ride  that  little  communi- 
ty according  to  the  powers  granted  by  the  royal  charter; 
to  confirm  former  possessions,  and  to  grant  lands  to  every 
one,  allowing  them  three  years  to  pay  the  quit-rents; 
to  make  laws,  with  the  consent  of  the  delegates  of  the 
freemen,  for  the  general  good,  transmitting  them  for  the 
approbation  of  the  proprietaries.  And  he  was  request- 
ed to  visit  the  colony  in  person,  and  to  employ  skilful 
persons  to  explore  its  bays,  its  rivers,  and  its  shores, 
which  were  then  extremely  unknown.  From  these  no- 
tices we  may  judge  of  the  then  condition  of  this  most 
ancient  settlement  of  Carolina,  with  regard  to  the  free- 
dom of  its  constitution  and  the  mode  of  acquiring  pro- 
perty ;  the  two  circumstances  which  are  the  most  apt  to 
engage  the  affections  of  mankmd.  Berkeley  appears  to 
have  discharged  the  trust  reposed  in  him,   during  the 


284  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

subsequent  year,  with  the  greatest  fidelity.  He  con- 
firmed and  granted  lands  to  every  one  on  the  conditions 
before  mentioned ;  he  appointed  Drmnmond,  a  man  of 
sufficient  prudence  and  abilities,  the  first  governor,  with 
other  officers :  And  he  departed ;  leaving  the  whole  to 
follow  their  various  pursuits  in  peace.  The  colonists 
for  some  time  remained  in  this  state  of  happiness ;  be- 
cause, governing  themselves,  they  felt  not  oppression ; 
and,  being  equally  destitute  of  religion  and  clergy,  they 
were  not  disturbed,  like  the  early  colonists  of  the  North, 
with  religious  controversy.  But,  as  the  day  approached 
when  the  payment  of  quit-rents  was  to  commence,  they 
became  dissatisfied  with  the  tenures  by  which  they  held 
their  lands.  And  the  Assembly  of  1666,  being  probably 
the  first  of  which  any  memorial  now  remains,  transmit- 
ted a  petition  to  the  proprietaries ;  praying,  that  the  peo- 
ple of  Albemarle  might  hold  their  possessions  on  the 
same  terms  as  the  Virginians  enjoyed  theirs.  The  pro- 
prietaries, animated  at  all  times  by  the  strongest  inclina- 
tion to  do  every  thing  that  might  promote  the  settlement 
of  their  province,  that  might  gratify  the  wishes  of  the 
people,  agreed  to  a  request  which  appeared  so  reasona- 
ble ;  commanding  the  governor  to  grant  the  lands  in 
future  on  the  terms  prescribed  by  themselves.'^  Such  is 
the  early  history  of  North- Carolina,  which  is  probably 
as  important  and  instructive  as  the  annals  of  the  most 
renowned  states  of  antiquity,  if  we  deduct  from  them 
the  agreeable  fables  with  which  their  eloquent  authors 
have  adorned  them. 

The  proprietaries  having  thus  reared,  with  attentive 
care,  the  feebleness  of  Albemarle,  turned  their  chief  re- 
gard to  that  finer  region  which  lies  more  southerly  along 
the  coast.  In  August,  1663,  they  proposed  to  establish 
a  new  colony,  to  the  southward  of  Cape  Fear,  on  the 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  285 

river  Charles,  which  was  now  denominated  the  county 
of  Clarendon.  Several  gentlemen  ofBarbadoes,  dissat- 
isfied with  their  present  condition  and  anxious  to  be- 
come the  heads  of  a  less  considerable  establishment, 
proposed  to  remove  thither.  But  while  they  solicited 
the  grant  of  a  district,  thirty-two  miles  square,  and  all 
the  powers  of  a  corporation,  they  fitted  out  a  vessel,  un- 
der the  conduct  of  Hinton,  an  able  navigator,  to  explore 
the  coast  from  that  promontory  to  the  thirty-first  degree 
of  latitude ;  because  they  had  been  discouraged  by  the 
evil  reports  of  the  New-England  people.  The  proprie- 
taries mean-while  had  given  orders  to  dispatch  a  ship 
from  Virginia  to  examine  the  same  shores  ;  in  order  to 
determine  what  rivers  and  countries  were  the  most  pro- 
per for  habitation.  These  notices  demonstrate  how 
much  that  region  had  been  neglected  by  England  from 
the  days  of  Raleigh  and  Drake  to  the  present,  and 
how  much  better  the  French  had  been  instructed  by 
the  enterprises  before-mentioned.  The  reports  above 
alluded  to  were  happily  found,  by  the  most  accurate 
researches,  to  be  entirely  groundless.  And,  though  the 
proprietaries  refused  to  confer  the  district  or  the  corpo- 
rate powers  which  had  been  asked,  they  gave  the  ad- 
venturers of  Barbadoes  every  possible  encouragement, 
because  they  seem  to  have  been  perfectly  satisfied.  In 
January,  1664—5,  John  Yeamans,  a  respectable  planter 
of  this  island,  was  appointed  commander  in  chief  of 
Clarendon  county,  stretching  from  Cape  Fear  to  the 
river  Saint  Matheo,  and  he  was  at  the  same  time  creat- 
ed a  baronet,  in  order  to  give  weight  to  his  station,  to 
add  splendour  to  a  colony  which  as  yet  had  but  little  in 
itself.  The  same  powers  were  now  conferred  and  the 
same  constitution  was  established  as  those  which  had 
made  Albemarle  happy.     He  was  ordered  to  grant  lands 


286  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA, 

to  every  one,  according'  to  the  conditions  agreed  on  with 
the  adventurers,  reserving  one  halfpenny  sterhng  for 
every  acre,  payable  in  March,  1670  :  He  was  directed 
"  to  make  every  thing  easy  to  the  people  of  New-Eng- 
land, from  which  the  greatest  emigrations  are  expected, 
as  the  southern  colonies  are  already  drained."  There 
was  an  order  at  the  same  time  made,  that  the  commis- 
sion of  Yeamans  should  not  prevent  the  appointment  of 
a  new  governor  for  the  projected  settlement  to  the 
southward  of  Cape  Remain,  which  soon  after  acquired 
the  name  of  Carteret.  Thus  establishing  for  Carolina 
a  variety  of  separate  and  independent  colonies,  each  of 
which  had  its  own  government,  its  own  assembly,  its 
own  customs  and  laws :  A  policy,  which  occasioned 
probably  the  long  continued  feebleness  and  distractions 
of  that  province,  the  proprietaries  found  leisure  to  re- 
gret. The  reigning  monarch,  desirous  to  lend  his  aid 
to  the  laudable  exertions  of  his  courtiers,  gave  them 
twelve  pieces  of  ordnance,  which  were  now  sent  to 
Charles-river  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  warlike 
stores.^ 

Having  thus  acquired  the  most  minute  information  of 
the  whole  coast,  having  discovered  on  both  extremes  of 
their  province  tracts  of  land  that  would  form  advantage- 
ous additions,  the  proprietaries  easily  obtained,  from 
the  facility  and  favour  of  their  sovereign,  a  second  char- 
ter, in  June,  1665.^  It  recited  and  confirmed  the  for- 
mer. It  granted,  to  the  same  patentees,  that  province 
situated  within  the  king's  dominions  in  America,  ex- 
tending north-eastward  to  Carahtuke-inlet,  thence  in  a 
straight  line  to  Wyonoke,  which  lies  under  36  deg. 
and  30  min.  north  latitude ;  south-westward  to  the  29th 
degree ;  and  from  the  Ocean  to  the  South  Seas.  It 
conferred  on  them  all  the  rights,  jurisdictions,  and  roy- 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  287 

alties,  which  the  bishop  of  Durham  ever  possessed. 
This  region  was  to  be  holden  of  the  manor  of  East- 
Greenwich,  paying  a  rent  of  twenty  marks  and  one 
fourth  of  the  gold  and  silver  that  should  be  found.  All 
persons,  except  those  who  should  be  expressly  forbid- 
den, were  allowed  to  transport  themselves  to  Carolina  ; 
and  they  and  their  children  were  declared  to  be  denizens 
of  England,  who  should  be  always  considered  as  the 
same  people,  and  possess  the  same  privileges  as  those 
dwelling  within  the  realm.  They  were  empowered  to 
trade  in  all  commodities  which  were  not  prohibit- 
ed by  the  statutes  of  England  :  They  were  authorised 
to  lade  the  productions  of  the  province,  and  to  bring  them 
into  England,  Scotland,  or  Ireland ;  paying  such  duties 
as  other  subjects  :  And  they  were  exempted,  for  seven 
years,  from  the  payment  of  any  customs  on  the  importa- 
tion, into  any  of  the  dominions  of  the  crown,  of  wines 
and  other  enumerated  products  of  the  colony.  The  pro- 
prietaries were  enabled  to  make  laws  for  the  province, 
with  the  consent  of  the  freemen  or  their  delegates ;  so 
that  they  should  be  reasonable,  and  as  near  as  might  be 
to  those  of  England.  They  were  empowered  to  erect 
ports  for  the  convenience  of  commerce  ;  and  there  were 
granted  to  them  such  customs  as  should  be  imposed  by 
the  assembly.  They  were  allowed  to  grant  titles  of 
honour  by  the  creation  of  a  nobility.  Carolina  was  de- 
clared independent  of  any  other  province,  but  subject 
immediately  to  the  crown  of  England ;  and  the  inhabit- 
ants were  never  to  be  compelled  to  answer  in  other  do- 
minions of  the  crown,  except  only  within  the  realm. 
The  Proprietaries  were  authorised  to  grant  indulgences 
to  those  who  could  not  conform  to  the  church  of  England, 
who  should  not  be  molested  for  their  religion  while  they 
disturbed  not  the  peace  of  the  province.     Such  then  is 


288  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

the  substance  of  the  last  of  the  Carohnian  charters ; 
which  conferred  on  the  noble  grantees  a  most  extensive 
territory  and  royal  rights ;  on  the  people,  English  liber- 
ties ;  which  saved  the  power  of  parliament  with  regard 
to  regulation  and  taxation.  But  no  one  prerogative  of 
the  crown  was  reserved,  except  only  the  sovereign  domi- 
nion. Lord  Clarendon,  the  chancellor,  was  not  long 
after  unpeached :  because  among  other  offences,  he  had 
introduced  arbitrary  government  into  the  plantations}^ 
Yet  they  who  attentivel}^  peruse  the  charters,  granted 
to  Connecticut,  Rhode-Island,  and  Carolina,  while  he 
held  the  seals,  mil  probably  be  of  opinion  that  his  crime 
consisted  in  sacrificing  the  legal  powers  of  the  crown, 
and  the  national  rights,  at  the  shrine  of  his  colonial 
prepossessions.  Against  the  charges  of  party  that 
unfoiiunate  statesman  easily  defended  himself,  because 
they  were  unjust ;  to  this  he  would  have  probably  found 
it  more  difficult  to  answer. 

Though  the  proprietaries,  encouraged  by  this  fresh 
instance  of  the  royal  favour,  exerted  themselves  for  se- 
Teral  years  to  procure  adventurers  from  Scotland,  from 
Ireland,  the  West-Indies,  and  the  northern  colonies, 
Carolina,  like  almost  all  the  other  plantations,  increased 
slowly  in  population  and  in  power.  Owing  partly  to 
the  climate,  which,  though  celebrated  during  those 
times,  is  known  to  be  unhealthful;  but  more  to  the  dis- 
persion of  a  few  settlers  over  the  face  of  an  extensive 
desert,  it  languished  during  a  considerable  length  of 
years ;  because  similar  obstructions  occurred  here  to 
stop  its  growth.  Notwithstanding  the  greatness  of  their 
power,  and  the  expensiveness  of  their  exertions,  the 
noble  projectors  were  taught,  by  experience,  that  nature 
compels  all  to  obey.  The  emigrants  of  Barbadoes, 
conducted  by  Sir  John  Yeamans,  at  length  landed,  dur- 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  289 

ing  the  autumn  of  1665,  on  the  southern  bank  of  the 
river  of  Cape  Fear.  Like  that  of  all  other  men  who 
have  undertaken  the  arduous  task  of  subduing  a  wilder- 
ness, their  first  labour  was  applied  to  the  erection  of 
habitations,  and  to  the  procurement  of  food.  Their 
leader  ruled  them  with  the  affection  of  a  father,  rather 
than  with  the  authority  of  the  governor,  according  to 
the  instructions  that  had  been  given  him  in  charge. 
At  the  same  time  that  he  cultivated  the  good-will  of  the 
aborigines,  he  only  obeyed  the  humane  orders  he  was 
honoured  with ;  which  insured  a  seven  years  peace, 
that  was  at  length  disturbed  by  the  interestedness  of 
individuals ;  and  the  people,  as  usual,  suffered  for  the 
folhes  or  crimes  of  their  rulers.  While  the  planters 
opened  the  forest,  to  make  room  for  the  operations  of 
tillage,  they  necessarily  prepared  timber  for  the  uses  of 
the  cooper  and  bnilder;  which  they  transmitted  to  the 
island  whence  they  had  emigrated,  as  the  first  object  of 
a  feeble  commerce,  that  kindled  the  spark  of  industry 
which  soon  gave  animation  to  the  whole. ^^  As  the  emi- 
grants had  no  other  grievance  to  complain  of  than  what 
was  incident  to  the  situation  which  they  had  chosen  for 
themselves,  their  early  story  offers  no  other  lesson  to 
mankind,  than  by  putting  future  adventurers  in  constant 
remembrance  of  the  sufferings  of  others,  to  convince 
them  of  the  necessity  and  the  use  of  steeling  their  minds, 
for  the  approach  of  difficulties,  for  the  conquest  of 
danger. 

Being  gratified  in  their  first  request,  the  inhabitants  of 
Albemarle  pursued  their  original  employments  in  peace, 
though  not  with  alacrity,  because  they  had  emigrated 
from  a  colony  where  the  commercial  spirit  did  not  exist. 
Yet,  like  their  neighbours  of  Virginia,  they  continued 
to  cultivate  tobacco  and  Indian  com,  which  promoted 

37 


290  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

an  inconsiderable  traffic  with  the  traders  of  New-Eng- 
land, who   seem  alone  to  have  then  frequented  their 
shallow  rivers,   and  to  have  supplied  their  little  wants. 
In  October,  1667,  Samuel  Stevens,  a  man  whose  abili- 
ties and  virtues  were  thought  equal  to  the  trust,   was 
appointed  governor  of  Albemarle,  in  the  room  of  Drum- 
mond.     And  now  was  given  to  that  colony  such  a  con- 
stitution  as   must  have  rendered  it  completely  happy, 
had  it  been  faithfully  supported.     He  was  commanded 
to  act  altogether  by  the  advice  of  a  council  of  twelve ; 
the  one  half  of  which  he  was  empowered  to  appoint ;  the 
other  six  the  assembly  was  authorised  to  choose.     And 
here  seems  to  be  a  sufficient  remedy  for  that  defect  which 
wise  men  have  discovered  in  the  establishment  of  that 
body,  in  the  colonial  constitutions,  which  forms  equally 
the  senatorial  branch  of  the  legislature,  the  privy-coun- 
cil of  the  supreme  magistrate,  and  the  court  of  appeals. 
The   assembly  was   composed  of  the  governor,   of  the 
council,  of  twelve   delegates   chosen   annually  by  the 
freeholders.      The   legislature  was  not   only  invested 
with  the  power  to  make  laws,  but  with  a  large  portion 
of  the   executive  authority ;  with  the  right  of  conven- 
ing and  adjourning  itself,  of  appointing  officers,  of  pre- 
senting   to   churches.      Various    regulations    provided 
for  the   security  of  property :    No  taxes  could  be  im- 
posed without  the  consent    of  the    assembly :     Their 
lands  were  confirmed  and  granted  to  be  now  holden  by 
the  free  tenure  of  soccage,  which  always  carries  with  it 
a   certain  rent  and  independence.     Perfect  freedom  in 
religion  was   offered  to  a  people  who  seem  hitherto  to 
have  been  little  attached  to  any  :  And  all  men  were  de- 
clared to  be  entitled  to  equal  privileges,  upon  taking  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  king,  and  of  fidelity  to  the  pro- 
prietaries.    This   admirable   system  the  inhabitants  re- 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  291 

ceived  wiih  a  satisfaction  in  proportion  to  the  import- 
ance of  it.  But  it  was  not  till  the  autumn  of  1669  that 
an  assembly  thus  constituted  was  convened,  for  the 
making-  of  laws  for  men,  who  being  yet  few  in  number, 
seem  to  have  been  governed  chiefly  by  the  customs  they 
had  brought  with  them  from  their  ancient  establishment. 
Owing  to  pecuhar  motives  it  has  always  been  an  uni- 
versal principle  of  colonial  policy  to  obstruct  the  recovery 
of  debts :  And,  as  the  legislature  remarked,  that  suffi- 
cient encouragement  had  not  been  yet  given  to  the  peo- 
pling of  Albemarle,  it  was  now  enacted;  that  none 
shall  be  sued,  during  five  years,  for  any  cause  of  action 
arising  out  of  the  country ;  that  none  shall  accept  a 
power  of  attorney,  to  receive  debts  contracted  abroad. 
Hence  this  colony  was  long  considered  as  the  refuge  of 
the  criminal  and  the  asylum  of  the  fugitive  debtor.  But 
a  more  natural  mode  of  promoting  population  was  at 
the  same  time  established,  by  an  act  concerning  mar- 
riage :  It  declared ;  that,  as  people  might  wish  to  marry, 
and  there  being  yet  no  ministers,  in  order  that  none 
might  be  hindered  from  so  necessary  a  work  for  the 
preservation  of  mankind,  any  two  persons  carrying  be- 
fore the  governor  and  council  a  few  of  their  neighbours, 
and  declaring  their  mutual  assent,  shall  be  deemed  hus- 
band and  wife.  From  this  remarkable  law  we  may 
judge  of  the  then  state  of  religion  and  of  morals.  And 
here  we  see  a  prodigious  contrast  between  the  Southern 
and  Northern  colonists.  All  the  emigrations  of  New- 
England  were  conducted  by  ecclesiastics,  who  long  di- 
rected, with  almost  equal  authority,  in  temporal  as  in 
spiritual  affairs.  During  almost  twenty  years  we  can 
trace  nothing  of  clergymen  in  the  history  or  laws  of 
Carolina :  And  it  was  not  till  the  dissenters  had  emigrat- 
ed thither  in  considerable  numbers,  and  began  to  con- 


292  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

tend  for  equality,  perhaps  for  pre-eminence,  that  we 
hear  of  rehgious  controversy,  or  indeed  any  thing  of 
rehgion.  Other  regulations,  which  were  equally  neces- 
sary, were  at  that  time  enacted.  New  comers  were  ex- 
empted from  taxes  for  one  year.  Engrossing  was  pro- 
hibited. The  peace  of  the  country  was  insured,  by 
prohibiting  strangers  from  trading  with  the  Indians- 
Every  one  was  restrained  from  "  transferring  his  lands 
for  two  years."  A  duty  of  thirty  pounds  of  tobacco  on 
every -law-suit  was  unposed,  for  paying  the  expences  of 
the  governor  and  council  during  the  sitting  of  assem- 
blies, "  as  no  course  had  yet  been  taken  for  defraijing  their 
charges^  And  these  laws,  which  demonstrate  the 
weakness,  and  illustrate  the  early  policy  of  that  incon- 
siderable settlement,  were  ratified  by  the  proprietaries 
in  January,  1 670.  As  it  received  little  augmentation  to 
its  numbers  from  abroad,  the  colonists  increased  but 
slowly,  and  they  only  then  began  to  plant  the  southern 
banks  of  the  river  Albemarle ;  which  shows  that  the 
extent  of  its  frontier  was  equal  to  the  paucity  of  its 
people. ^^ 

Meanwhile,  the  proprietaries,  dissatisfied  with  every 
system  which  they  had  hiherto  created  for  their  province, 
in  July,  1669,  signed  by  a  body  of  fundamental  consti- 
tutions, that  had  been  compiled  by  the  celebrated 
Locke :  Giving  as  a  reason,  what  shews  how  much 
they  had  repented  of  their  former  conduct ;  "  that  we 
may  establish  a  government  agreeable  to  the  mo- 
narchy of  which  Carolina  is  a  part,  that  we  may  avoid 
making  too  numerous  a  democracy."  By  this  edict^^  a 
palatine  was  to  be  chosen  from  among  the  proprietaries 
for  life,  who  was  empowered  to  act  as  president  of 
the  palatine-court,  composed  of  the  whole,  which  was 
intrusted  with  the  execution  of  the  powers  of  the  char- 


POLITICAL   ANNALS    OF   CAROLINA.  293 

ter.  Abody  of  hereditary  nobility  was  created,  and  de- 
nominated landgraves  and  caciques,  because  they  were 
to  be  unlike  those  of  England  in  name  ;  the  former  to  be 
invested  with  four  baronies,  consisting  each  of  six  thou- 
sand Acres  :  the  latter  to  have  two,  containing  one  half 
of  that  quantity :  And  these  estates  were  to  descend 
with  the  dignities  inseparably.  The  provincial  legisla- 
ture, dignified  with  the  name  of  parliament,  was  to  be 
biennial,  and  to  consist  of  the  proprietaries  or  of  the  de- 
puty of  each,  which  each  might  appoint ;  of  the  nobi- 
'lity ;  of  the  representatives  or  of  the  freeholders  of 
every  district :  And,  like  the  ancient  Scottish  parlia- 
ment, all  were  to  meet  in  one  apartment,  and  every 
member  to  enjoy  an  equal  vote  :  But  no  business  was 
to  be  proposed  till  it  had  been  debated  in  the  grand 
council,  whose  duty  it  was,  like  the  lords  of  articles  of 
the  Scottish  constitution,  to  prepare  bills  for  its  consi- 
deration. At  the  end  of  every  Century  the  laws  enacted 
by  it  were  to  become  void  without  the  formality  of 
repeal,  similar  also  to  a  principle  of  the  jurisprudence  of 
Scotland.  A  grand  council,  composed  of  the  governor, 
the  nobility,  and  deputies  of  proprietors,  was  established, 
and  invested  with  the  executive  power  of  the  province. 
Various  judicatories,  from  that  of  the  hundred  to  the 
court  of  the  chief  justice,  were  erected.  As  an  encou- 
ragement to  emigration,  fifty  acres  of  land  were  offered 
to  every  colonist,  paying  forever  a  quit-rent  of  a  penny 
an  acre.  The  church  of  England  alone  was  to  be  allowed 
a  public  maintenance  by  parliament ;  but  every  congrega- 
tion might  tax  its  own  members  for  the  support  of  its  own 
ministers  :  And  to  everyone  was  allowed  perfect  freedom 
in  religion.  Yet  the  most  degrading  slavery  was  intro- 
duced, by  investing  in  every  freeman  the  property  of 
his  negro.     And  these  constitutions,  consisting  of  one 


294  POLITICAL    ANNALS   OF    CAROLINA. 

hundred  and  twenty  articles,  and  containing  an  infinite 
variety  of  perplexing  regulations,  were  declared  to  be  the 
sacred  and  unalterable  rule  of  government  in  Carolina 
forever.  They  offer  few  'practical  maxims  which  are 
alone  useful ;  they  v/ere  never  altogether  adopted  ;  and 
they  merit  therefore  no  farther  discussion. 

But  the  wise  men,  who  were  chiefly  engaged  in  that 
famous  act  of  legislation,  seem  not  to  have  reflected, 
during  their  ardour,  that  the  provincials  had  settled  on 
conditions  which  it  was  no  longer  in  their  power  to 
abrogate  ;  that,  in  the  forms  of  government  which  had 
been  actually  established,  the  people  had  acquired  an 
interest  which  could  not  be  taken  away  without  their 
consent ;  that,  while  they  gave  a  supposed  freedom  to 
some,  they  reduced  others,  who  were  equally  entitled 
to  the  rights  of  nature,  to  bondage.  Of  these  constitu- 
tions it  has  been  said,  that  they  were  intended  to  form  a 
miniature  of  the  ancient  Saxon  government  in  England  : 
But  the  Carolinians  should  have  been  placed  in  a  simi- 
lar situation  as  the  Saxons,  before  their  system  had 
been  established  as  the  unalterable  rule.  For  laws  are 
made  for  men,  who  seldom  adopt  the  projects  of  others, 
and  not  for  a  desert,  which  is  yet  to  be  filled  with  a 
people  suitable  to  the  laws :  And  the  history  alone  of 
Carolina  and  of  Georgia  demonstrates  this  important 
truth,  which  the  proprietaries  seem  not  to  have  fore- 
seen. Nothing  can  shew  more  clearly  the  fallibility  of 
the  human  understanding  than  the  singular  fate  of  these 
constitutions.  Discovered  instantly  to  be  wholly  inap- 
phcable  to  the  circumstances  of  an  inconsiderable  colo- 
ny, and  in  a  variety  of  cases  to  be  altogether  impracti- 
cable, they  were  immediately  changed.  The  identity 
of  them  was  debated  by  those  to  whom  they  were  offered 
as  a  rule  of  conduct,  because  they  had  not  been  con- 


POLITICAL    ANNALS    OF  CAROLINA.  295 

suited  in  the  formation  of  them.  They  gave  rise  to  the 
greatest  dissentions,  which  long  distracted  the  province, 
which  engendered  discord.  And,  after  a  little  period  of 
years,  the  whole,  found  inconvenient  and  even  danger- 
ous, were  laid  aside,  and  a  much  simpler  form  establish- 
ed. Nor  is  this  any  imputation  of  the  admirable 
talents  of  the  compiler  of  these  famous  constitutions,  or 
of  the  wisdom  of  those  who  approved  them.  For 
the  art  of  legislation,  as  it  is  the  noblest,  is  also  the 
most  difficult  of  any.  The  jurisprudence  of  every  com- 
munity, receiving  additional  improvement  from  every 
new  situation  at  which  it  arrives,  during  its  progress, 
can  only  acquire  that  state  of  perfection  which  seems  to 
give  satisfaction  to  all  from  the  accumulated  wisdom  and 
experience  of  ages.  And  men  of  discernment  have  re- 
marked ;  that  the  illustrious  legislators,  the  Solons,  the 
Numas,  the  Alfreds,  only  collected  those  customs  which 
they  found  already  adopted  by  their  tribes,  which  they 
afterwards  distributed  with  illustrations.  If  the  various 
forms  of  New-England  were  altogether  democratic, 
these  constitutions  erred  in  the  other  extreme,  by 
establishing  a  rule  of  the  nobles  :  Both  were  defect- 
ive, because  both  wanted  the  excellent  balance  of  the 
English  constitution. 

The  proprietaries  having  thus  established  a  constitu- 
tion, which  they  presumed  the  Carolinians  would  re- 
ceive with  satisfaction,  because  it  pleased  themselves  ; 
which  they  deemed  immortal,  because  it  was  declared 
to  be  unalterable ;  proceeded  immediately  to  execute 
what  depended  on  them.  By  choosing  the  famous  Duke 
of  Albemarle  their  palatine,  he  was  placed  at  their  head, 
as  the  representative  of  the  king,  and  in  some  measure 
invested  with  the  supreme  direction :  But  he  did  not  long 
survive   this   additional   dignity;     and,    because   Lord 


296  POLITICAL  ANNALS    OF    CAROLINA. 

Berkeley  was  the  next  oldest  of  the  proprietors,  he  suc- 
ceeded him  in  the  year  1670,  in  conformity  to  the  consti- 
tutions. The  other  proprietaries  were  at  the  same  time 
appointed  to  other  offices  of  high  name  and  sound,  but 
of  no  real  importance  or  use.  As  a  reward  of  his  ser- 
vices, John  Locke  was,  not  long  after,  created  a  land- 
grave ;  who,  like  the  other  Carolinian  nobles,  had  been 
consig-ned  to  obhvion,  bat  for  those  writmors  that  have 
enlightened  the  world  while  they  have  immortalized 
himself  Leaving  Albemarle  to  its  own  exertions,  the 
proprietaries  turned  their  attention  to  the  settlement  of 
the  southern  parts  of  the  province.  With  this  view  a 
considerable  number  of  emigrants  was  sent  out  in  Janu- 
ary, 1670,  in  order  to  forma  colony  at  Port-royal,  un- 
der the  conduct  of  William  Sayle,  a  man  of  experience, 
who  had  been  appointed  governor  of  that  part  of  the 
coast  lying  south-westward  of  Cape  Carteret.  He  was 
accompanied  by  Joseph  West,  who  was  now  entrusted 
with  the  commercial  affairs  of  the  proprietaries,  who, 
for  upwards  of  twenty  years,  bore  the  chief  sway  in 
Carolina.  These  noblemen  for  some  time  were  the  only 
merchants,  in  order  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  colonists, 
rather  than  to  acquire  profit.  And  they  now  employed 
vessels  to  carry  on  a  circuitous  traffic,  for  the  purpose 
of  procuring  colonists,  cattle,  provisions  from  Virguiia, 
Bermudas,  and  Barbadoes  :  of  carrying  off  the  inconsi- 
derable products  of  the  land.  Before  the  year  1679 
they  had  expended  eighteen  thousand  pounds  on  a 
project  which  had  then  only  yielded  them  vexation  and 
poverty.^* 

The  emigrants,  after  touching  at  Ireland  and  Barba- 
does, arrived  safe  at  the  place  of  their  destination.  And 
now  the  defects  of  their  constitutions  appeared  to  every 
one.     A  colony  intended  to  be  ruled  in  a  great  measure 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  297 

by  nobles  was  found  to  have  neither  landgraves  nor  ca- ' 
ciques :  In  the  same  manner  the  people  to  be  ruled 
were  extremely  few.  And  at  the  same  time  that  it  was 
deemed  impracticable  "  to  execute  the  grand  model,  it 
was  determined  to  come  as  nigh  to  it  as  possible." 
Writs  were  therefore  immediately  issued,  requiring  the 
freeholders  to  elect  five  persons,  who  with  five  others 
chosen  by  the  proprietaries,  were  to  form  the  grand 
council,  without  whose  assent  the  governor  could  per- 
form no  governmental  act.  Of  these,  and  twenty  dele- 
gates chosen  hy  the  same  electors,  the  parliament  was 
composed,  which  was  invested  with  legislative  power. 
As  encouragements  to  settle  at  Port-royal,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  land  were  given  to  every  emigrant  at 
an  easy  quit-rent ;  clothes  and. provisions  were  distribut- 
ed, from  the  store  of  the  proprietaries,  to  those  who 
could  not  provide  for  themselves.  And,  in  order  to  se- 
cure the  good- will  of  the  neighbouring  tribes,  and  con- 
sequently the  safety  of  the  settlement,  considerable  pre- 
sents were  prudently  given  to  the  Indian  caciques, 
who  bore  considerable  sway.  Scarcely  had  Sayle  per- 
formed what  was  given  him  in  charge,  when  his  consti- 
tution, yielding  to  the  damps  of  the  climate,  he  died : 
Leaving  the  colonists  to  the  common  lot  of  those  who 
engage  in  such  enterprises.^^ 

The  command  of  Sir  John  Yeamans,  who  had  hither- 
to ruled  the  plantation  around  Cape  Fear  with  a  pru- 
dence which  precluded  complaint,  was  extended,  in 
August,  1671,  over  that  which  lay  south-westward  of 
Cape  Carteret :  And  the  authority  given  him  was  ex- 
actly the  same  as  that  of  his  predecessor.  The  shores, 
the  streams,  and  the  country,  being  now  perfectly 
known,  because  they  had  been  accurately  surveyed,  the 
planters,  from  Clarendon  on  the  north,  from  Port-Royal 

38 


298  POLITICAL  ANNALS     OF  CAROLINA. 

on  the  south,  resorted  to  the  banks  of  Ashley-river, 
"for  the  convenience  of  pasturage  and  tillage."  And 
here,  "  on  the  first  high-land,"  w^as  laid,  during  the  same 
year,  the  foundation  of  Old  Charles- Town,  which  became 
for  some  years  the  capital  of  the  southern  settlements. 
The  proprietaries,  with  their  former  sphit,  promulgated 
"  temporary  laws,  till,  by  a  sufficient  number  of  inhabi- 
tants, government  could  be  administered  according  to 
the  fundamental  constitutions."  One  of  these  rules  hu- 
manity dictated,  and  policy  approved:  It  commanded, 
that  every  one  shall  cultivate  the  friendship  of  their 
neighbours  the  Indians,  shall  make  them  satisfaction  for 
wrongs  ;  that  none  of  them,  on  any  pretence,  shall  be 
enslaved  or  sent  out  of  the  country :  And  the  whole 
concluded  vidth  this  general  direction,  "  that  so  much  of 
the  fundamental  constitutions  as  can  be  exerted  shall  be 
the  rule  of  proceeding ;"  but  the  temporary  laws  were 
not  of  long  duration,  because  they  were  derided  by  a 
people  without  whose  consent  they  had  been  establish- 
ed, and  they  deserve  not  to  be  now  remembered.  Far 
from  being  able  to  raise  commodities  to  exchange  for 
the  various  necessaries  which  the  colonists  wanted 
from  abroad,  they  were  for  years  only  capable  to  pro- 
cure food.  During  this  period  of  their  weakness,  the 
proprietaries  supplied  them  abundantly  ;  but  they  were 
either  unwilling  or  unable  to  repay  them ;  and,  before 
the  end  of  the  year  1763,  a  debt  of  several  thousand 
pomids  had  been  incurred.  Yet  they  now  solicited  fresh 
supplies,  though  they  shewed  not  how  the  late  or  future 
expences  were  ever  to  be  reimbursed.  And  they  com- 
plained of  neglect,  and  insinuated  reproach,  because 
their  creditors  "  would  no  longer  continue  to  feed  and 
to  clothe  them."  This  conduct,  which  has  been  at  all 
times  too  common  m  the  world,  rather  than  the  Dutch 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  299 

war,  put  an  end  to  a  correspondence  wliich.  was  so  use- 
ful, so  necessary,  to  them,  because  the  proprietaries 
thought  it  time  to  give  over  such  a  charge,'  since  the 
country  was  not  worth  having  at  so  dear  a  rate.  Will- 
ing, however,  to  encourage  the  industrious,  particularly 
the  emigrants  from  England,  New- York,  and  the  north- 
ern colonies,  who  were  real  friends  to  the  settlement, 
they  sent  another  supply,  and  promised  an  annual  one  ; 
but  they  warned  the  planters  to  consider  how  they  were 
to  be  repaid,  since  they  were  determined  "  to  make  no 
more  desperate  debts."  They  soon  after  transmitted 
them  what  was  of  more  real  importance,  "  vines  and 
other  useful  plants,  and  men  skilled  in  the  management 
of  them."  The  whole  conduct  of  Sir  John  Yeamans, 
as  too  frequently  happens,  seems  to  have  been  changed 
by  his  promotion  to  more  extensive  command.  Instead 
of  dedicating  his  chief  attention  to  promote  the  happi- 
ness of  the  people  by  a  salutary  administration,  he  act- 
ed as  the  only  trader  of  that  little  community,  "  buying 
of  the  poor  planters  their  provisions  at  low  prices,  and 
shipping  them  off  to  Barbadoes."  His  improper  manage- 
ment was  supposed  to  have  reduced  the  colony  to  "  no 
higher  pitch  than  to  be  subservient  to  that  island  in  pro- , 
visions  and  timber : "  And  his  commission  was  revoked 
in  May,  1674.  At  the  same  time  that  the  proprietaries 
refused  to  send  the  Carolinians  "  a  stock  of  cattle,"  be- 
cause "  they  wished  not  to  encourage  graziers,  but 
planters,"  they  strongly  recommended  the  cultivation  of 
tobacco,  till  more  beneficial  staples  could  be  introduced ; 
since,  where  there  can  be  no  barter,  no  traffic  can  ex- 
ist.^^  Mutual  jealousy  and  discontent  seem  to  have  then 
commenced  between  the  rulers  and  the  people,  which 
embittered  the  cup  of  future  intercourse.  Yet  it  is  from 
this  epoch  that  we  may  date  the  prosperity  of  Carolina, 


300  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

because  she  was  then  taught  a  lesson  which  it  is  of  the 
greatest  importance  for  every  individual  and  every  state 
to  know ;  "  that  she  must  altogether  depend  on  her  own 
exertions." 

In  the  mean  time,  the  same  instructions  which  were 
given  to  Sayle,  for  the  government  of  the  southern  co- 
lony, were  transmitted,   in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1670,  to  Stevens,  the  governor  of  Albemarle,   bee  use 
they    were  here    equally    necessary :    But    a    system 
which  established  a  change  so  unfavourable  to  the  inter- 
ests of  freedom,  without  the  consent  of  the  people,  was 
received  with   dissatisfaction,   perhaps    derision.     And 
there  were  not  wanting  men  who  promoted  the  public 
discontent ;  because,  like  those  to  be  met  with  in  every 
country,  they  found  no  pleasure  in  repose.     It  was  now 
insinuated,  though  there  seems  to  have  been  no  founda- 
tion for  it,  that  the  proprietaries  intended  to  dismember 
their  provinces,   and  to  give,   to  Sir  William  Berkeley, 
Albemarle,  as  his  portion  of  the  whole.     The  assembly 
of  October,    1675,  feeling  for  the  independence  of  the 
colony,  remonstrated  to  the  proprietaries  against  a  mea- 
sure so  injurious  to  individuals,  and  so  degrading  to  the 
country.    .  A  favourable  answer  was  given  in  the  subse- 
quent year :    Those  noblemen  assuring  the  colonists, 
that  they  would  always  maintain  the  province  entire,  in 
order  that  they  might  preserve  their  English  rights; 
that  every  advantage  -might  be  derived  from  the  vicinity 
of  Virginia :    Yet  they  confessed  that  they  had  been 
wanting  in  attention  to  the  people  of  Albemarle,    be- 
cause they  looked  upon  them  as  men  who  regarded  the 
interests  of  others,  since   they  had  neither  planted  the 
banks  of  the  rivers  Pemlico  and  Neuse,  nor  discovered 
"  a  way  by  land"  to  the  settlement  of  Ashley.     During 
the  discontents  of  those  times,  Miller,  a  person  of  some 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  301 

consideration,  being  accused  of  speaking  seditious  words, 
was  sent  to  James-Town  for  trial,  because  the  power  of 
Sir  William  Berkeley  was  then  dreaded.  But  the  ru- 
lers of  Albemarle  seem  not  to  have  reflected,  during 
their  ill-grounded  fears,  that  they  deprived  him  equally 
of  his  chartered  privileges  and  legal  rights.  He  was 
acquitted.  Yet,  at  a  future  day,  the  proprietaries  disap- 
proved of  a  conduct  so  destructive  of  their  jurisdiction, 
which,  in  all  countries  is  defended  with  so  much  ardour, 
because  its  preservation  inviolate  is  so  flattering  to  the 
pride  of  men.  Amid  distractions  which  shew  a  total 
debility  of  government,  proceeding  from  the  frequency 
of  the  late  changes,  from  the  establishment  of  forms 
contrary  to  the  inclinations  of  the  people,  Albemarle  was 
deprived  of  a  governor,  by  the  death  of  Stevens,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1674.  Agreeably  to  a  prudent 
instruction  for  that  purpose,  the  assembly  chose  Cart- 
wright  in  his  room,  "  till  orders  should  come  from  Eng- 
land." Yet  disgusted,  probably,  with  a  situation  where- 
in he  could  acquire  neither  much  profit  nor  reputation, 
he  returned  to  England  in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1676 ;  leaving  "  the  administration  in  ill  order  and 
worse  hands."  ^^ 

When  the  proprietaries  reflected  how  much  their  for- 
mer instructions  had  been  neglected,  and  their  designs 
opposed,  by  those  who  w^ere  intrusted  w^ith  the  execu- 
tion of  both ;  how  much  the  trade  of  New-England 
thither  had  been  promoted  contrary  to  the  former,  and 
the  settlement  of  the  southern  bank  of  the  Albemarle 
had  been  discouraged  notwithstanding  the  latter,  they 
resolved  to  appoint  such  a  governor  as  should  execute 
both.  In  November,  1676,  they  named  therefore  East- 
church,  whose  address  and  abilities  had  raised  him  to  the 
dignity  of  speaker  of  the  assembly,  w^ho  had  lately  ar- 


302  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  '   ' 

rived  in  England,  to  represent  the  situation  of  affairs  : 
And  his  instructions  were  framed  so  as  to  remedy  the 
late,  and  to  prevent  future,  disorders.  Miller,  who  now 
solicited  reparation  for  his  wrongs,  was  at  the  same  time 
appointed  secretary  and  Lord  Shaftesbury's  deputy  ;  by 
the  commissioners  of  the  customs  he  was  constituted 
the  first  collector  of  the  parliamentary  revenue  in  that 
colony.  They  departed  in  the  beginning  of  the  subse- 
quent year,  in  order  to  take  upon  them  these  important 
offices.  But  Eastchurch,  being  detained  in  the  West- 
Indies  by  an  agreeable  engagement,  thought  it  prudent 
to  detach  the  companion  of  his  voyage  to  govern  the 
colony  as  president  till  his  arrival.'® 

As  chief  magistrate  and  collector  of  the  royal  customs, 
Miller  was  received  in  July,  1677,  with  a  treacherous 
facihty  which  did  not  forebode  a  peaceful  administra- 
tion. He  found  the  colony  to  consist  of  a  few  inconsi- 
derable plantations,  dispersed  over  the  north-eastern 
bank  of  the  Albemarle,  and  divided  into  four  districts. 
The  colonists  were  far  from  numerous,  because  the 
tithables,  consisting  of  all  the  working  hands,  from  six- 
teen to  sixty  years  of  age,  one-third  of  which  was  com- 
posed oi  Indians,  negroes,  and  women,  amounted  only  to 
fourteen  hundred  :  And  exclusive  of  the  cattle  and  the 
Indian  com,  eight  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco 
were  the  annual  productions  of  their  labour.  These 
formed  the  basis  of  an  inconsiderable  commerce,  which 
was  almost  entirely  carried  on  by  the  people  of  New- 
England,  who  supplied  then  little  wants  who  sent  their 
commodities  all  over  Europe,  who,  in  a  great  measure, 
governed  the  colony,  and  directed  the  pursuits  of  the 
planter  to  their  own  advantage.'^  Thus  that  country 
acquired,  by  the  address  of  its  traders,  that  staple  which 
it  had  been  the  policy  of  the  acts  of  navigation  to  esta- 


POLITICAL  ANNALS    OF    CAROLINA.  303 

blish.  in  England.  And  though,  the  situation  of  Virginia 
ought  to  have  commanded  the  whole  of  a  traffic  of 
which  she  now  only  enjoyed  a  part,  yet  so  little  was  she 
governed  by  commercial  motives,  that  two  years  after 
she  prohibited ^°  "the  importation  of  tobacco  from  Caro- 
lina ;  as  it  had  been  found  very  prejudicial."  Yet  let 
us  not  think  meanly  of  the  population,  of  the  products, 
or  the  wealth,  of  Albemarle,  since,  with  regard  to  all 
these,  she  was  then  superior  to  her  neighbour  on  Ashley. 
Uninstructed  in  the  precepts  of  religion,  the  colonists 
were  ignorant :  uninformed  of  the  affairs  of  the  world, 
they  were  extremely  credulous :  And  they  formed 
therefore  fine  instruments  to  perform  the  work  of  those 
who  wished  to  profit  by  them.  In  conformity  to  his  in- 
structions. Miller  began  the  work  of  reformation,  which, 
in  all  countries,  must  be  conducted  by  the  hand  of  pru- 
dence ;  which  has  shaken  the  thrones  of  princes,  though 
supported  by  talents  and  power,  that  this  man  did  not 
possess.  He  easily  obliged  Bird,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed collector  by  the  assembly,  to  refund  a  consider- 
able sum  which  he  had  collected  under  the  authority 
of  the  act  of  parliament  before-mentioned  :  ^^  He  en- 
deavoured to  promote  a  more  direct  trade  with  England 
and  the  other  colonies,  in  order  to  destroy  the  monopoly 
enjoyed  by  the  people  of  New-England  ;  who,  said  the 
proprietaries,  cannot  be  friends  to  the  prosperity  and 
interest  of  Carolina,  which  will  certainly  in  time  render 
them  inconsiderable.  But,  as  president,  "  he  did  many 
extravagant  things,  whereby,  as  we  are  assured,  he  lost 
the  affections  of  the  people."  Yet  the  regular  discharge 
of  his  duty,  when  obliged  to  perform  such  instructions, 
tended  necessarily  to  render  him  obnoxious.  The  usual 
arts  of  the  seditious  were  moreover  employed  to  dis- 
seminate  discontent    and    raise    disaffection.  ^^       And 


304  POLITICAL    ANNALS  OF    CAROLINA. 

the  traders  of  New-England,  conscious  of  the  orders 
that  threatened  the  loss  of  an  advantageous  commerce, 
watered  the  seeds  of  disorder,  which  thej  foresaw^  would 
yield  them  an  abundant  harvest.^^  The  moment  an 
armed  vessel  arrived,  which  was  conducted  by  Gillam, 
a  name  then  famous  in  Albemarle,  an  insurrection 
broke  out  in  December,  1677.  The  insurgents  were 
chiefly  conducted  by  Culpeper,  who  had,  in  1671,  been 
appointed  surveyor-general  of  Carolina,  who  had  raised 
commotions  on  Ashley-river,  who  was  now  greatly 
listened  to,  because  he  was  deemed  so  experienced  in 
such  enterprises.  As  there  was  no  power  to  resist  them, 
they  easily  acquired  undisputed  possession  of  the  coun- 
try. They  imprisoned  the  president,  who  was  the 
chief  object  of  their  indignation,  and  seven  proprietary 
deputies  ;  they  seized  the  royal  revenue,  amounting  to 
three  thousand  pounds,  which  they  appropriated  for 
supporting  the  revolt ;  they  established  courts  of  justice ; 
they  appointed  officers  ;  they  called  a  parliament :  And 
they,  for  years,  exercised  all  the  authority  of  an  inde- 
pendent state. .^^  As  there  had  been  no  example  of  a 
revolt,  which  was  not  accompanied  by  a  manifesto,  so 
now  the  inhabitants  of  Pasquetanhe  addressed  a  remon- 
strance to  the  rest  of  the  people  of  Albemarle  ;^^  in  order 
to  justify  a  conduct  which  might  have  appeared  unpro- 
voked ;  to  induce  the  planters  of  the  three  other  districts 
to  favour  their  views  and  to  lend  them  their  aid.  It 
complained  of  the  various  oppressions  of  Miller,  and 
assigned,  as  a  principal  reason  why  they  had  seized  the 
records  and  imprisoned  the  president,  "that  thereby  the 
country  may  have  a  free  parliament,  to  represent  their 
grievances  to  the  proprietaries."  Though  this  writing 
is  not  remarkable  either  for  elegance  of  diction  or  vigour 
of  sentiment,  yet  it  was   adapted  to  the  understandings 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  305 

of  all  the  parties,  and  answered  its  end :  It  is  to  be  la- 
mented, that  such  publications  seldom  contain  the  real 
motives  of  the  chief  actors  on  such  occasions.  Of  this 
insurrection  contemporary  men  of  discernment  remark- 
ed: That  it  was  owing"  to  no  sudden  provocation,  but 
was  the  effect  of  deliberate  contrivance,  in  order  that  the 
conductors  of  it,  and  some  other  men  of  New-England, 
might  get  the  trade  of  this  country  into  their  own 
hands,  might  defraud  the  king  of  his  customs,  and  buy 
the  goods  of  the  inhabitants  at  their  own  rates.  And 
thus  people  are  made  the  constant  bubbles  of  their  own 
credulity  and  of  others'  crimes :  We  may  deplore  their 
miseries,  though  it  seems  to  little  purpose  to  lament 
what  cannot  possibly  be  in  future  prevented ! 

When  Eastchurch  at  length  arrived,  to  whose  commis- 
sion or  conduct  there  could  be  na  objection,  the  insurgents 
derided  his  authority  and  denied  him  obedience.  He  was 
constrained  to  apply  to  the  governor  of  Virginia  for  aid : 
But  he  died  of  ^  vexation  before  a  sufficient  number  of 
troops  could  be  collected  to  answer  his  purpose.  Yet 
still  apprehensive  of  an  invasion,  from  this  province,  of 
the  punishment  that  would  probably  be  inflicted,  his 
opponents,  at  the  end  of  two  years'  successful  revolt,  dis- 
patched Culpeper  andHoldento  England,  to  promise  sub- 
mission to  the  proprietaries,  but  to  insist  on  the  punish- 
ment of  Miller.  And  the  late  president,  and  other 
officers,  who  had  languished  meanwhile  in  prison,  hav- 
ing found  means  to  escape,  appeared  in  England  about 
the  same  time,  and  filled  the  court  and  the  nation  with 
complaints  of  their  own  sufferings,  with  accusations 
against  their  persecutors.^^  Men,  who  regarded  neither, 
saw,  in  the  continuance  of  the  present  revolt,  the  degra- 
dation of  the  proprietary  government,  of  the  authority  of 
England ;  and  foretold,  that,  when  the  present  iactors 

39 


306  POLITICAL  ANNALS    OF    CAROLINA. 

no  longer  gave  animation  to  the  scene,  the  colony  and 
the  state  would  equally  feel  and  regret  the  evil  of  bad 
example,  vrhich  must  necessarily  result  from  successful 
insurrection. 

When  Culpeper  had  executed  his  commission,  and 
was  about  to  return,  he  was  impeached,  by  the  com- 
missioners of  the  customs,  of  the  crimes  of  acting  as 
collector  without  their  authority,  of  embezzling  the  king's 
revenue.  He  was  seized  on-board  a  vessel  in  the 
Downs,  by  virtue  of  a  w^arrant  from  the  privy-council. 
It  was  in  vain  for  him  to  acknowledge  the  facts  and  to 
beg  for  mercy ;  or  were  this  refused,  to  request  that  he 
might  be  sent  to  Carolina  for  trial,  where  the  offences 
were  supposed  to  have  been  committed :  His  powerful 
accusers  insisted  that  no  favour  might  be  shown  him, 
unless  he  refunded  the  duties  which  he  had  wrongfully 
seized. '"^  And,  in  Trinity-term,  1680,  he  was  tried  in 
the  court  of  King-'s-bench,  on  an  indictment  of  hig-h-trea- 
son  committed  without  the  realm.  Though  five  wit- 
nesses fully  proved  those  circumstances  which  consti- 
tuted the  crime,  yet  the  famous  Shaftesbury,  who  was 
then  in  the  zenith  of  his  popularity,  appearing  on  his  be- 
half, and  representing,  contrary  to  the  most  undoubted 
facts,  "  that  there  had  never  been  any  regular  govern- 
ment in  Albemarle  ;  that  its  disorders  Avere  only  feuds 
between  the  planters ;  which  could  only  amount  to  a 
riot ;  "  Culpeper  was  acquitted :  ^'^  The  judges  declar- 
ing, that  to  take  up  arms  against  the  proprietary  govern- 
ment was  treason  ao^amst  the  kinff. 

Though  historians  concur  in  representing  mistakingly, 
that  Culpeper  was  sent  from  Carolina,  and  tried  in  Eng- 
land for  high-treason  committed  within  that  colony,  yet 
none  of  them  deny,  or  even  doubt,  the  legality  of  the 
trial.^^     That  was  reserved  for  modern  times.     And  Sir 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  307 

Peyton  Ventris,  the  reporter  of  his  case,  remarks,  with 
approbation,  "  that,  by  the  statute  of  Henry  VIII.  foreign 
treasons  may  be  either  tried  by  a  special  commission, 
or  in  the  king's-bench  by  a  jury  of  the  county  where 
that  court  sits."  ^^  It  seems  to  have  been  anciently  a 
matter  of  uncertainty  in  what  manner  treasons  commit- 
ted without  the  kingdom  were  to  be  inquired  of;  "  they 
wanted  trial  at  common  law,  says  Sir  Edward  Coke,^° 
and  therefore  to  establish  certainty  therein,  the  above- 
mentioned  law  was  made."  How  much  the  vigorous 
reign  of  Elizabeth  was  disturbed  hj  various  rebellions 
in  Ireland  is  known  to  every  one  :  And  several  oifend- 
ers,  against  the  duty  of  their  allegiance,  were  punished 
within  the  realm,  agreeably  to  a  resolution  of  the  judges, 
"  though  Ireland  had  the  same  laws  for  treason  that 
England  hath,  and  some  more."^^  A  similar  practice 
continued  in  the  two  subsequent  reigns,  because  similar 
crimes  occurred.  And  though  a  peer  of  Ireland  insist- 
ed, that,  were  he  tried  in  England,  he  would  be  depriv- 
ed of  the  beneficial  trial  by  his  peers,  he  was  yet  con- 
victed by  a  jury  of  Middlesex.^^  No  proposition  of  law, 
therefore,  could  be  better  established  or  known,  at  the 
epoch  of  American  colonisation,  than  that  foreign  trea- 
sons might  be  tried  within  the  realm :  And  none  could 
be  more  applicable  to  the  condition  of  subjects  residing 
withm  a  distant  territory  of  the  crown.  It  was  accord- 
ingly declared,  we  have  seen,  to  be  a  fundamental  prin- 
ciple in  the  Virginian  constitution ;  "  that  every  offender 
against  the  duty  of  his  allegiance,  shall  be  sent  to  Eng- 
land, there  to  receive  condign  punishment."  The  same 
rule  was  expressly  established  and  enforced  by  the 
Carolinian  charter  of  1665.  The  practice  seems  to 
have  been  common  and  universal  during  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.  to  send  colonists  to  England,  charged  with 


308  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

high  treason.^^  It  was  pontinued  by  William  at  the  Re- 
volution, and  strengthened  by  Anne.  But  Culpeper  is 
the  first  colonist  who  appears  to  have  been  regularly 
tried  in  the  court  of  king's-bench  by  virtue  of  the  statute 
before-mentioned.  And  the  learned  of  former  times  re- 
marked :  That  long  usage,  uniformity  in  principle,  the 
approbation  of  ages,  are  the  best  evidences  of  a  consti- 
tutional right.^^ 

To  put  an  end  to  an  usurpation  that  had  so  long  op- 
pressed the  people  and  set  at  naught  the  power  of  the 
proprietaries,  two  proposals  were  submitted  to  them : 
either,  by  a  vigorous  exertion  of  an  inconsiderable  arma- 
ment, to  subdue  the  insurgents  by  force ;  or  to  accept 
of  their  proferred  submission  on  the  terms  proposed  by 
themselves.  Agreeably  to  the  wonted  practice  of  the 
weak,  the  proprietaries  temporized  for  some  time ;  now 
shewing  a  disposition,  while  they  were  incited  by  their 
resentments,  to  exhibit  an  example  to  posterity,  by  pun- 
ishing the  most  guilty ;  at  other  times,  blaming  the  con- 
duct of  their  officers,  and  justifying  the  actions  of  their 
opponents :  But,  with  the  acquittal  of  Culpeper,  they 
determined  to  adopt  the  last,  which  at  once  displayed 
their  own  imbeciUty,  and  offered  up,  at  the  shrine  of 
mistaken  policy,  those  friends  who  had  risqued  every 
thing  in  defence  of  their  rights.  And  they  resolved  to 
govern,  m  future,  according  to  that  portion  of  obedience 
which  the  insurgents  should  be  disposed  to  yield  them.^* 
The  wise  exclaimed,  in  the  language  of  prediction; 
"  that  a  government,  actuated  by  such  principles,  cannot 
possibly  be  of  long  continuance." 

In  prosecution  of  this  determination,  the  proprietaries 
established  a  temporary  administration  in  the  beginnmg 
of  the  year  1680,  at  the  head  of  which  was  placed  Har- 
vey as  president :  Resolving  to  send  thither  Seth  Sothel, 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  309 

who  had  lately  purchased  Lord  Clarendon's  share  of  the 
province,  that,  by  his  authority,  he  might  reduce  the 
late  distractions  to  order.  Yet  they  were  disappointed. 
Little  regard  was  paid  to  the  rule  of  Harvey,  because 
men  yield  unwilling  obedience  to  a  government  which 
they  know  to  be  of  short  duration :  And  Sothel  was 
taken  by  the  Algerines  on  his  voyage  thither.  Henry 
Wilkinson,  a  person  from  whose  prudence  much  was 
expected,  was  appointed  governor  in  February,  1681, 
of  that  part  of  Carolina  stretching  from  Virginia  to  the 
river  Pemlico,  and  five  miles  beyond  it.  Means  were 
now  employed  to  heal  former  disorders.  An  act  of  ob- 
livion was  passed,  but  with  an  exception  with  regard  to 
"  the  duties  due  to  the  king  and  to  the  estates  of  his 
collector."  To  the  governor  and  council  the  proprieta- 
ries remonstrated:  "We  hope  your  own  interest,  as 
well  as  our  injunction,  will  induce  you  to  use  your  ut- 
most endeavours  to  settle  order  amongst  yourselves, 
without  which  you  can  never  expect  an  increase  of 
strength  or  trade;  and  these  considerations  ought  to 
prevail  so  far,  that  we  shall  not  be  constrained  to  use 
force  to  reduce  the  seditious  to  reason ;  since  it  is  the 
good  of  the  inhabitants  we  most  desire,  and  not  the  tak- 
ing away  of  any  man's  life  and  estate."  ^^  But  this  sen- 
sible representation  was  attended  with  little  effect,  be- 
cause former  causes  continued.  Strangers  to  that 
moderation  which  the  lenity  and  good  intentions  of  the 
proprietaries  ought  naturally  to  have  inspired,  those  who 
bore  chief  sway  were  actuated  alone  by  the  vindictive 
spirit  of  a  triumphant  faction.  They  proceeded  against 
their  opponents  by  imprisonment,  and  fine,  and  banish- 
ment ;  who  were  obliged  to  flee  into  Virginia  for  pro- 
tection :    And  with  them  departed  justice  and  freedom 


310  POLITICAJ.  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

from  a  country,  doomed  to  suffer  a  long  misery,  as  a 
punishment  for  its  follies  or  crimes.^^ 

This  lamentable  scene  of  anarchy  was  not  however 
changed,  nor  was  the  condition  of  the  colony  meliorated 
by  the  arrival  of  Sothel,  the  governor,  in  the  year  1683. 
Though  required  to  expel  those  from  the  council  who 
were  concerned  in  the  late  disorders ;  to  establish  a 
court  of  the  most  impartial  of  the  inhabitants,  for  the 
determination  of  wrongs  done  during  the  distractions  of 
the  times ;  to  assist  the  officers  of  the  customs  in  collect- 
ing the  royal  revenue,  in  executing  the  acts  of  naviga- 
tion ;  he  declined  to  comply.  The  annals  of  delegated 
authority  have  not  recorded  a  name  which  deserves  so 
much  to  be  transmitted  to  posterity  with  infamy  as  that 
of  Sothel.  Bribery,  extortion,  injustice,  rapacity,  with 
breach  of  trust  and  disobedience  of  orders,  are  the  crimes 
of  which  he  was  accused  during  the  five  years  that  he 
misruled  a  miserable  colony. ^'^  Strange,  that  the  man 
who  had  beheld  tyranny  in  all  its  odious  forms  on  the 
coast  of  Barbary,  did  not  feel  for  the  sufferings  of  men, 
and  respect  their  rights !  Driven  almost  to  despair,  the 
inhabitants  seized  his  person,  in  1688,  in  order  to  send 
him  to  England,  to  answer  their  complaints  :  But,  upon 
his  intreaties,  and  offering  to  submit  their  mutual  accu- 
sations to  the  next  assembly,  they  accepted  of  his  pro- 
posal, with  a  m^oderation  which  shows  the  extent  of 
their  wrongs.  The  assembly  "  gave  judgment  against 
him  in  all  the  above-mentioned  particulars,  and  com- 
pelled him  to  abjure  the  country  for  tv/elve  months,  and 
the  government  for  ever."  ^^  Yet  at  the  same  time  that 
the  proprietaries  did  not  altogether  approve  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  people,  because  "  prejudicial  to  the  preroga- 
tive of  the  crown  and  to  their  honour,"  they  heard,  with 
abhorrence,  of  their  sufferings  ;  they  endeavoured,  with 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  311 

a  laudable  spirit,  to  prevent  such  for  the  future.^^  And 
such  was  the  sad  condition  to  which  North  Carolina 
was  reduced  at  the  epoch  of  the  Revolution,  partly  by 
her  own  folly,  but  more  by  the  intrigues  and  crimes  of 
others. 

When  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  proprietaries  with  the 
conduct  of  Yeamans,  which  was  said  to  have  altered  the 
face  of  things,  procured  his  recal,  Joseph  West,  whose 
prudent  management  had  recommended  him,  was  in 
the  mean  time  appointed  governor  of  the  Southern  colo- 
ny in  May,  1674.  He  is  justly  celebrated  for  his  cou- 
rage, his  wisdom,  his  moderation.  And,  as  the  province 
enjoyed  the  influence  of  these  virtues,  it  prospered  for 
some  years ;  it  felt  no  other  infelicity  than  what  arose 
from  a  penury  which  disabled  the  planters  from  dis- 
charging what  they  owed  to  the  proprietaries.  As  the 
debtors  had  promised  to  pay  the  governor's  salary, 
which  was  extremely  inconsiderable,  as  they  however 
failed,  there  were  assigned  him,  in  April,  1677,  the 
plantation  and  stock,  the  merchandises  and  debts,  be- 
longing to  his  constituents  in  Carolina,  in  discharge  of 
his  claims.  This  is  the  first  factor,  who,  at  the  end  of 
ten  years'  prudent  management,  received  the  whole  pro- 
duct of  his  traffic,  as  the  reward  of  his  services,  without 
any  impeachment  of  his  morals.  Other  nobles  may 
learn  from  this  trivial  transaction,  how  unprofitable  and 
unavailing  it  is  for  them  to  engage  in  similar  com- 
mercial enterprises.  Yet  the  proprietaries,  by  the  ap- 
plication of  eighteen  thousand  pounds,  without  aiming 
at  the  profit  of  merchants,  had  mastered  the  difficulty  of 
the  undertaking  :  People  going  thither  now  at  their  own 
expense,  and  men  of  estate  venturing  where  they  were 
assured  of  fair  dealing.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that 
the  dissenters,  made  uneasy  in  England,  by   what  they 


312  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF    CAROLINA. 

beheld,  which  they  deemed  nothing  to  what  they  dread- 
ed "  from  a  popish  successor,"  emigrated  thither  in  con- 
siderable numbers.  While  these  men  augmented  its 
numbers,  they  acquired  the  lionour  of  introducing  reU- 
gion  into  Carohna,  but  with  it  religious  controversy 
and  pohtical  aUercation,  which  neither  promoted  the 
interests  of  morality  nor  of  peace.  In  April,  1679, 
Charles  II.  with  a  munificence  which  does  him  honour, 
ordered  two  small  vessels  to  be  provided  at  his  expence, 
to  transport  thither  several  foreign  Protestants,  who  pro- 
posed to  raise  wine,  oil,  silk,  and  other  productions  of 
the  South.  He  exempted  that  province  from  the  pay- 
ment of  taxes  on  these  commodities  for  a  limited  time, 
though  the  commissioners  of  customs  remonstrated, 
Vv^ith  a  prophetic  prudence,  against  "  the  encouraging  of 
people  to  remove  to  the  plantations,  as  too  many  go  thi- 
ther, to  the  unpeopling  and  ruin  of  the  kingdom :"  But, 
owing  to  their  weighty  reasons,  there  was  refused  an 
exemption  on  the  exportation  of  tobacco  from  Carolina, 
which  was  now  asked,  which  they  foretold  would  occa- 
sion abuses  more  easy  to  prevent  than  to  abolish.  The 
renown  of  that  country,  the  encouragement  given  by  the 
proprietaries,  induced  many  foreigners  of  various  na- 
tions to  emigrate  thither  from  this  time  to  the  Revo- 
lution. And  though  they  have  never  been  able  to  enrich 
it  with  the  valuable  commodities  which  were  now 
so  confidently  promised,  their  descendants  form  a  re- 
spectable part  of  the  present  inhabitants.  Instructed 
that  "the  Oyster-point,"  so  delightfully  formed  by 
the  confi.uence  of  the  rivers  Ashley  and  Cooper,  was 
more  convenient  than  what  the  first  settlers  had  chosen, 
the  proprietaries  encouraged  the  inclination  of  the  peo- 
ple, who  began  to  remove  thither  in  1679.  And,  in  the 
subsequent  year,  the  foundation  was  laid  of  Charles- 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  313 

Town,  so  famous  for  the  regularity  of  its  streets,  the 
extent  of  its  commerce,  the  elegance  of  its  inhabitants  ; 
and,  during  this  year,  thirty  houses  were  built.  It  was 
instantly  declared  the  port  for  the  various  purposes  of 
traffic,  the  capital  for  the  general  administration  of  go- 
vernment. But  it  was  long  unhealthful.  From  the 
month  of  June  to  October,  the  courts  of  justice  were 
annually  shut  up  ;  no  public  business  was  transacted ; 
men  fled  from  it  as  from  pestilence ;  and  orders  were 
given  to  inquire  for  situations  more  friendly  to  health. 
Yet  how  happy  and  how  singular  is  the  reverse  !  It  is 
now  allowed  to  enjoy  the  most  salubrious  air  m  Caro- 
lina. And  the  inhabitants  resort  to  it  at  present,  during 
the  same  season,  with  the  ardor  of  those  who  hope  to 
enjoy  the  greatest  of  blessings.^"  Men  of  discernment 
have  attributed  this  fortunate  revolution  to  the  disper- 
sion or  purification  of  the  noxious  vapour,  by  the  smoke 
issuing  from  the  numerous  culinary  fires. 

Notwithstanding  the  early  instructions  of  the  proprie- 
taries to  cultivate  the  good-will  of  the  Aborigines,  and 
the  more  recent  orders  to  prohibit  all  trade  with  them  for 
seven  years,  till  the  inhabitants  are  more  numerous  and 
better  able  to  defend  themselves,  a  war  commenced  in 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1680,  with  the  Westoes,  a  very 
powerful  tribe  on  the  southern  boundary ;  w^hich  was  "  not 
only  extremely  troublesome,  but  had  well  nigh  ruined  that 
hopeful  settlement."  The  cause  of  hostilities,  thus  in- 
convenient and  dangerous,  may  be  found  in  injuries, 
which  had  been  for  some  years  mutually  given  and  re- 
ceived, which  by  both  parties  were  still  more  dreaded  in 
future.  But,  as  every  evij.  was  to  be  feared,  as  no 
possible  good  could  be  expected,  from  the  continuance 
of  a  war  which  is  never  attended  with  glory  or  profit,  a 
peace  was  concluded  in  the  subsequent  year ;    the   old 

40 


314  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

giving  security  for  the  good  conduct  of  the  young.     In 
order  to  prevent  the  return  of  similar  mischiefs,  that 
more  than  ordinary  care  might  be  taken  to  do  justice  to 
the  natives,  commissioners  were  appointed  by  the  pro- 
prietaries, to  decide  all  complaints  between  the  contend- 
ing parties.     Though  the  tribes  within  four  hundred 
miles    of  Charles-Town  were  at  the  same  time  taken 
under  the  protection  of  those  noblemen,  a  dishonourable 
practice  then  commenced,  which  all  of  their  authority 
was  unable  to  prevent  or  abolish.     Not  only  the  princi- 
pal inhabitants,  but  the  officers   of  government,   encou- 
raged that  spirit  of  discord  which  reigns  among  untutored 
savages,    and  promoted   that  inclination   for    war    so 
natural  to  the  American  Indian,  to  every   nation  in   a 
similar  state  of  improvement,  merely  with  design   to 
procure  the  captives,  whom  they  purchased  as  slaves : 
And  they  but  too  frequently   inflamed  the  colonists  to 
make  war  on  the  men  whom  they  had  promised  to  civi- 
lize, "  to  introduce  to  a  knowledge  of  God,"  whom  they 
were  under  every  obligation  to  protect.     It  was  in  vain 
for  the  governor  and  council  to  insist,  as  a  justification, 
that  a  policy,  which  weakened  the  tribes  by  their  mu- 
tual wars,   secured  the   colony   against  their  attacks ; 
that  it  was  humane  to  buy  prisoners  who  were  already 
doomed  to  die  :  The  proprietaries,  dissatisfied  with  these 
reasons,  represented,  how  jealous  they  were  that  the 
private  gains,  which  some  make  by  the  traffic  for  slaves, 
sway  more   to  these  opinions  than  the  public  safety; 
that  they  could  not  answer  it  to  God,  to  the  king,  to  the 
people  intrusted  to  their  government,  any  longer  to  suf- 
fer a  conduct  which  had  b^en  so  detrimental  to  the  pro- 
vince, by  discouraging  many  considerable  persons  from 
going  thither,     Yet  it  required  the  future  remonstrances 
of  the  proprietaries,  against  "  this  barbarous  practice," 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  315 

to  procure  a  law  to  regulate,  and  at  length  to  prohibit, 
what  was  so  ignoble  in  itself,  and  had  given  such  de- 
served offence/'  A  mutual  hatred  then  commenced  be- 
tween the  natives  and  the  colonists,  which  length  of 
time  has  been  unable  to  allay.  And  the  aborigines  in 
after-times  revenged  severely  their  misconduct  or  crimes 
upon  the  innocent  posterity  of  the  original  settlers; 
making  Carolina  regret  that  her  founders  had  reduced 
the  freest  of  men  to  a  condition  more  truly  deplorable 
than  that  of  the  beasts,  their  fellow-labourers,  uncon- 
scious of  what  the  others  had  lost. 

While  the  province  thus  suffered  complicated  ills  from 
the  misconduct  of  her  governors,  the  proprietaries  ex- 
erted themselves  to  promote  her  populousness,  her  secu- 
rity, her  happiness.  At  the  desire  of  several  wealthy 
persons,  who  proposed  to  emigrate  thither,  they  "  once 
more  "  revised  the  unalterable  constitutions.  They  de- 
clared, that  no  farther  changes  should  be  made  without 
the  consent  of  the  representatives  of  the  people.  It  is  un- 
necessary to  point  out  the  nature  of  alterations  which 
were  never  admitted  in  Carolina,  though  they  relaxed 
the  rigour  of  the  constitutions  in  favour  of  freedom : 
For  the  people  were  persuaded  to  see,  in  a  measure  in- 
tended probably  for  their  good,  the  danger  of  destructive 
precedent.  Incited  by  these  attentions,  Ferguson  not 
long  after  conducted  thither  an  emigration  from  Ireland, 
which  instantly  mingled  with  the  mass  of  the  inhabi- 
tants. Lord  Cardross  led  a  colony  from  Scotland, 
which  settled  at  Ps^t-royal ;  which  claiming,  from  an 
agreement  with  the  proprietaries,  co-ordinate  authority 
with  the  governor  and  grand  council  of  Charles-Town, 
was  compelled,  with  circumstances  of  outrage,  to  ac- 
knowlege  submission ;  and,  having  provoked  the  Span- 
iards at  St.  Augustine,  by  inciting  the  Indians  against 


316  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAHOLINA. 

them,  the  Scottish  settlement  was  in  after-times  totallj 
destroyed :  Thus  acquiring,  when  it  was  no  more  of  any 
avail,   that  prudence,  from  sad  experience,  which  its 
leaders  ought   always  to  have  possessed  and  exerted. 
Though  the  province  had  been  formed  before  this  time 
into  manors  and  baronies,  as  caciques  and  landgraves 
were  created,  yet  it  was  during  the  year  1682  that  it 
was  first  divided  into  three  counties.     Berkeley  filled 
the   space   around  the  capital  as  far  as  Stono-creek  on 
the  north,   and  the  Sewee  on  the  south.     Craven  occu- 
pied the  district  to  the  northward  of  it,   towards  Cape 
Fear,  which  was  formerly  denominated  Clarendon,  the 
most  ancient  settlement  of  the  whole.     On  the   south, 
Colleton  contained  Port-royal  and  the  lands  in  its  vicin- 
ity, to  the  distance  of  thirty  miles.     Yet  the  first  only 
was  so  stocked  with  inhabitants  as  to  be  honoured  with 
a  county-court  for  the  determination  of  its  local  affairs : 
And  at  Charles-Town  the  twenty  members,  which  com- 
posed the  lower  house  of  parliament,   were   chosen. 
Such  was   the  inconsiderable  progress  of  a  province 
which  afterwards  became  so  opulent  and  great.     West 
held  a  parliament  in  autumn,  1682 ;  wherein  were  en- 
acted laws  for  the  settling  a  militia,  which  the  late  war 
had  taught  them  to  be  so  necessary ;  for  making  ways 
through  the   boundless  forest  which  every  where  sur- 
rounded the   capital;    for  promoting  the  morality  of  a 
people  who  did  not  enjoy  the  instruction  of  a  public 
ministry.     And  that  gentleman  immediately  resigned 
his  administration  to  Joseph  Moreton,  who  was  deemed 
at  that  time  worthy  of  this  important  trust.*^     Then  com- 
menced that  reiterated  change  of  governors,  appointing 
successively  Kyrle,  West,  Quarry,  Moreton,   of  every 
public  oflicer,  which  was  productive   of  those  evils  in 
Carolina  that  have  uniformly  attended  it  in  every  coun- 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  317 

try  on  earth  ;  the  degradation  of  the  proprietary  govern- 
ment; the  introduction  of  faction;  the  turbulence  of  a 
people  no  longer  attached  to  their  benefactors  and 
rulers. 

Moreton  convened  a  parliament  in  September,  1683. 
And  it  established  a  great  variety  of  regulations  for 
those  little  inconveniences  which  all  colonies  experience 
in  their  early  years ;  because  laws  every  where  arise 
from  the  wants  of  men,  and  not  from  the  speculations  of 
theorists.  In  order  to  remedy  the  distress  felt  from  the 
want  of  a  common  measure  of  commerce,  "  the  value 
of  foreign  coins  was  raised  ;"  which  first  gave  rise  to 
the  currency  of  Carolina,  that  in  after-times  became  so 
extremely  depreciated.  In  imitation  of  the  former  con- 
duct of  Albemarle,  "  all  prosecutions  for  foreign  debts 
were  suspended."  But  the  proprietaries  beholding,  not 
long  after,  with  abhorrence,  what  they  had  lately  con- 
firmed without  animadversion,  dissented  from  this  law, 
because  it  was  contrary  to  the  king's  honour,  since  it 
was  in  eflfect  to  stop  the  course  of  justice ;  because  the 
parliament  had  no  power  to  enact  a  law  so  contrary  to 
those  of  England :  And,  astonished  that  their  deputies 
would  have  assented  to  what  gave  such  just  oflfence, 
they  issued  orders,  "  that  all  officers  should  be  displaced 
who  had  promoted  it."^^  The  representatives  sent  to 
this  parliament  seem  to  have  been  chosen  contrary  to 
the  instructions  which  had  been  transmitted  the  year  be- 
fore ;  that,  of  the  twenty  members,  Berkeley  and  Colle- 
ton should  each  choose  ten  :  The  people  of  the  former 
because  most  numerous,  opposing  any  choice  by  the 
latter ;  and  the  third  county  being  yet  too  little  inhabit- 
ed to  be  thought  worthy  of  that  important  privilege. 
But,  considering  it  as  a  very  unequal  thing  that  the 
other  inhabitants  should  be  deprived  of  "  the  right  of 


318  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

representation,"  by  a  combination  to  have  all  members 
chosen  at  Charles-Town,  the  proprietaries  gave  orders 
that  the  present  should  be  dissolved,  and  no  other  par- 
liament called  till  their  instruction  should  be  complied 
with.  But  they  issued  their  commands  in  vain.  And 
we  shall  behold,  in  after-times,  the  people  rising  as  one 
man  to  put  an  end  to  this  signal  inequality,  which  was 
at  length  countenanced  by  the  power  that  now  wished 
to  abolish  it ;  because  the  sentiments  of  men  changed 
with  the  new  situation  to  which  all  had  arrived.  Sen- 
sible of  the  reiterated  misbehaviour  of  their  deputies, 
the  proprietors  informed  the  governor  and  council,  in 
language  which  at  least  shews  good  intentions  :  "  We 
would  have  you  take  notice  that  power  of  magistracy  is 
put  into  your  hands  for  the  good  of  the  people,  who 
ought  not  to  be  turned  into  prey,  as  we  doubt  hath  been 
too  much  practised."  It  is  remarkable  enough,  "  that 
the  greatest  dealers  in  Indian  slaves  were  the  fiercest 
sticklers  against  allowing  members  of  Parliament  to 
Colleton  county :  "  ^*  Thus  affording  an  example,  how 
men,  by  acquaintance  with  corruption,  become  steeled 
against  the  sense  of  what  they  owe  to  the  rights  of 
others. 

The  war,  which  the  ambition  of  Lewis  XIV.  lighted  up 
in  Europe  during  that  age,  put  in  motion  numerous  priva- 
teers, whose  successful  depredations  encouraged  the  peo- 
ple of  Carolina  to  pursue  similar  projects.  But  the  too 
anxious  zeal  of  Charles  II.  to  preserve  a  neutrality 
with  regard  to  the  belligerent  powers,  induced  him  to 
transmit  in  April,  1684,  a  declaration  of  his  intentions, 
which  the  proprietaries  ordered  should  be  punctually 
executed :  And  this  measure  gave  a  check  to  enterprises 
that  were  as  contrary  to  the  law  of  nations  as  they 
were  pernicious,  by  promoting  what  are  inconvenient 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  319 

every  where,  but  destructive   of  an  infant  colony ;  the 
desire  of  sudden  wealth,  the  spirit  of  dissipation}^     The 
peace  which  ensued,  by  an  easy  gradation,  transformed 
the  privateers  into  pirates,  which  long  infested  the  Ame- 
rica seas,  which   almost  annihilated    commerce.     The 
governor  of  Carolina,  the  proprietary-deputies,  the  prin- 
cipal inhabitants,  all  degraded  themselves   to   a   level 
with  the  meanest  of  mankind,  by  assisting  pirates,  by 
receiving   the  plunder  of  nations.     The   proprietaries 
remonstrated  against  practices  that  reflected  infamy  on 
the  province  :     But  in  vain  did  they  displace  their  offi- 
cers, when  the  numbers  and  credit  of  the  offenders  in 
some  measure  sanctified  the  crime.*®    Charles  II.  urged 
by  his  allies,  and  sensible  how  much  the  trade   of  his 
own  subjects  had  been  injured,  transmitted,  in  April, 
1684,  "  a  law  against  pirates  "  which  the  proprietaries 
required  might  be   enacted  by  the  parliament,  which 
they  afterwards  confirmed,  and  ordered  to  be  rigorously 
enforced.     But  unexecuted  laws  are  a  dead  letter:  And 
what  had  been  so  gainful,  however  dishonourable,  set- 
tled into  a  general  use.  The  naval  knowledge  of  James 
II.  acquired  him  the  honour  of  destroying  the  enemies 
of  mankind.     He  detached  Sir  Robert  Holmes,  with  a 
small  fleet,  in  August,  1687,  and  with  an   extraordinary 
commission,  "  for  suppressing  pirates  in  the   West  In- 
dies."    Notice  of  both  was  sent  to   the  governor  and 
council  at  Charles-Town,  who  received  orders  to  shew 
an  example  of  submission  to  his  powers,  to  afford  every 
assistance  to  his  armament.*'^     And  this  sensible  ^project 
proved  at  length  successful ;  till   new  causes  not  long 
after  gave  rise  to  piratical   adventures,  which  required 
the   continued  energy  of  William  and  Anne  to   sup- 
press. 

The  disgrace  with  which  those  piracies  covered  South- 


320  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

Carolina,  was  not  the  only  inconvenience  that  they 
entailed  on  it.  The  Spaniards,  at  St.  Angustine,  had 
always  viewed  the  Southern  plantations  with  peculiar 
jealousy ;  they  suspected  the  colonists,  with  reason,  of 
inflaming  the  Indians  against  them ;  and  they  beheld, 
with  indignation,  the  plunderers  of  their  wealth  openly 
encouraged  at  Charles-Town :  They  at  first  threatened 
hostilities  ;  but,  towards  the  end  of  the  je^r  1686,  they 
invaded  the  southernmost  frontiers,  and  laid  w^aste  the 
feeble  settlements  of  Port-royal.  Unable  to  defend  a 
wide  extended  boundarj^,  the  Carolinians,  countenanced 
by  the  governor  and  council,  and  persuaded  that  they 
had  sufficient  authority  from  their  charter  to  make  war 
on  their  neighbours,  prepared  to  take  St.  Augustine,  to 
defend  themselves,  by  strikmg  boldly  at  once  at  the 
heart  of  their  enemy.  But  the  proprietaries,  informed 
of  this  project,  remonstrated:  "That  every  rational 
man  must  have  foreseen  that  the  Spaniards,  thus  pro- 
voked, would  assuredly  retaliate  ;  that  the  clause  in  the 
patent,  that  had  been  relied  on  to  justify  the  measure, 
meant  only  a  pursuit  in  heat  of  victory,  but  not  a 
deliberate  making  w^ar  on  the  king  of  Spain's  subjects 
within  his  own  territories  :  nor  do  we  claim  any  such 
power :  No  man,however,  can  think,  that  the  dependen- 
cies of  England  can  have  power  to  make  war  upon  the 
king's  allies,  without  his  knowledge  or  consent."  A 
clause,  similar  to  that  before  alluded  to,  was  inserted  in 
every  colonial  charter,  out  of  abundant  caution  ;  but  it 
was  merely  declaratory  of  the  common  law,  which  would 
have  taken  place  without  it,  wherever  Englishmen  form- 
ed a  colony.  For  the  right  of  self-defence  is  inseparable 
from  man,  v/hithersoever  he  goes.  The  construction  of 
the  proprietaries  is  equally  sensible  and  decisive.  And, 
though  the  colonists  of  New-England  pursued  a  different 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAHOLINA.  321 

rule,  it  may  safely  be  asserted,  that  it  is  altogether  con- 
trary to  principle  to  argue  that  the  dependent  territories 
of  a  state  may  rightfully  make  war  or  peace,  without  its 
knowledge  and  assent.  For,  the  sovereign  nation  might 
be  involved  in  warfare,  and  bloodshed,  and  expence, 
till  it  ceased  to  be  at  all.  The  proprietaries  prudently 
dissented,  to  the  law  for  raising  men  and  money  for  the 
projected  invasion  of  the  Spanish  territories.  The  in- 
habitants being  either  convinced  by  the  reasonings  of 
the  remonstrance  before-mentioned,  or  the  sinews  of 
war  being  thus  cut  asunder,  the  expedition  was  discon- 
tinued. And  those  prudent  noblemen  congratulated  the 
governor  and  council  upon  this  event  in  terms  which 
shewed  how  much  in  earnest  they  had  been:  "We 
are  glad  you  have  laid  aside  your  project,  as,  had  it  pro- 
ceeded, Moreton,  Godfrey,  and  others,  might  have  an- 
swered it  perhaps  with  their  lives."  While  they  were 
ordered  to  write  "  a  civil  letter"  to  the  governor  of  St. 
Augustine,  to  inquire  by  what  authority  he  acted,  they 
were  warned  to  put  the  province  in  the  best  posture  of 
defence.^^  At  that  time  a  mutual  hatred  and  dread  of 
each  other  commenced,  between  the  Carolinians  and 
Spaniards,  which  ceased  only  when  the  latter  ceased  to 
be  the  lords  of  Florida. 

The  demise  of  Charles  II.  being  mean-while  formally 
communicated  to  the  governor  and  council,  James  II. 
was  joyfully  proclaimed.  For  the  pe.ople,  either  too 
much  engaged  in  domestic  faction,  in  throwing  off  griev- 
ances which  they  deemed  intolerable,  because  they  had 
felt  no  real  ones ;  or  in  acquiring  wealth  by  the  plunder 
of  their  neighbours ;  little  interested  themselves  in 
European  politics  or  intrigues.  And,  in  return  for  their 
expressions  of  loyalty,  this  monarch  assured  them  of  his 
protection,  with  an  unusual  insincerity,   while  he  medi- 

41 


322  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

tated  the  revocation  of  a  patent  which  had  conferred  the 
most  important  privileges. ^°  The  first  collector  was 
established  at  Charles-Town  during  the  year  1685  ;  be- 
cause at  that  time  its  commerce,  inconsiderable  as  it 
then  was,  began  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  world.  The 
governor  and  council  were  at  the  same  time  ordered 
"  not  to  fail  to  shew  their  forwardness  in  assisting  of 
the  collection  of  the  duty  on  tobacco  transported  to 
other  colonies  ;  in  seizing  ships  that  presumed  to  trade 
contrary  to  the  acts  of  navigation."  But  the  commands 
of  the  proprietaries  were  never  received  with  much  at- 
tention in  a  province  where,  in  theory,  they  seem  to 
have  engrossed  all  power.  And,  as  during  the  present 
season,  little  regard  was  paid  to  orders  so  contrary  to 
the  views  of  every  one,  an  illicit  trade  was  not  only 
practised,  but  justified  under  a  clause  of  the  patent, 
which  the  people  believed  to  he  of  superior  force  to  the  larv. 
Yet  the  proprietaries  never  claimed  any  exemption  by 
virtue  of  their  charter :  Nor  did  it  in  the  least  support  a 
pretension  so  contrary  to  itself  For,  as  we  have  seen, 
it  expressly  required  the  submission  of  the  colonists  to 
commercial  regulations,  to  the  payment  of  the  usual  cus- 
toms. Though  the  royal  grant  of  1665  was  passed  sub- 
sequent to  the  act  of  navigation,  the  present  exemption 
was,  7iot7vithstanding,  insisted  on,  with  the  same  spirit 
that  it  was  contended,  during  this  reign,  that  a  king  of 
England  may  dispense  with  the  law.  The  principle  of 
Carolinians,  and  the  doctrine  so  fashionable  at  the 
court  of  James,  which  sapped  the  foundations  of  his 
throne,  were  therefore  exactly  the  same.  But  how 
amusing  is  it  to  trace  the  extraordinary  changes  which 
often  happen  in  the  sentiments  of  men!  The  Revolution, 
the  claim  of  rights,  were  supposed  to  have  buried  the  dis- 
pensing porver  for  ever  m  oblivion.     Yet  it  has  been  re- 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  323 

vived  during  recent  times,  in  order  to  build  on  it  ideal 
systems,  though  the  actual  exertion  of  it  would  be  op- 
posed with  a  zeal  irreconcilable  to  the  sincerity  of  those 
who  maintain  it.  Neither  awed  by  the  authority,  nor 
convinced  by  the  reasonings,  of  the  proprietaries,  the 
provincials  continued  the  practice  which  they  had  avow- 
ed as  legal.  While  their  vessels  were  seized,  the  court 
of  England  was  filled  with  complaints  of  the  irregularity 
of  their  conduct.  And,  when  the  reigning  prince  had 
adopted  the  resolution  of  annihilating  all  proprietary 
governments,  a  writ  of  quo-warranto  was  issued  against 
the  patent  of  Carolina.  Thus,  neither  their  submission 
to  every  royal  mandate,  nor  their  readiness  to  aid,  with 
their  feeble  power,  in  the  collection  of  the  royal  revenue, 
in  the  execution  of  the  acts  of  navigation,  protected  the 
rights  of  the  proprietaries  from  attack.  Yet,  prudently 
bending  before  a  storm  which  it  seemed  vain  to  resist, 
they  eluded  the  force  of  a  blast  that  had  laid  the  char- 
ters and  governments  of  New-England  in  ruins.  And, 
by  offering  a  treaty  for  a  surrender,  they  gained  that 
precious  time,  which,  in  political  intrigue,  is  generally  of 
such  decisive  consequence.^^ 

Opposed  in  all  their  views  by  the  men  whose  duty  it 
was  to  promote  them,  and  offended  at  the  reiterated  dis- 
obedience of  their  officers,  the  proprietaries,  in  August, 
1686,  appointed  James  Colleton  governor;  expecting 
much  from  his  talents,  but  more  from  his  attachments. 
The  commencement  of  his  administration  seems  to  have 
given  satisfaction  to  every  one.  But  his  instructions, 
which  required  him  to  punish  the  former  governor  and 
officers  for  various  offences,  to  execute  that  law  against 
pirates  with  rigour  which  was  so  contrary  to  the  ruling 
principles  of  the  times,  naturally  rendered  him  obnoxi- 
ous to  such  a  people,  during  the  season  of  universal  de- 


324  POLITICAL  ANIMALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

geiieracy.^^  The  form  of  the  constitution,  composed  of 
a  variety  of  jurisdictions,  and  investing  the  parHament 
with  the  choice  of  members  for  the  grand  council,  neces- 
sarily gave  rise  to  perpetual  intrigue :  And  factions, 
consisting  of  men  of  various  views,  and  avowing  differ- 
ent principles,  "  sprang  up,  as  we  are  assured,  as  ram- 
pant there,  as  if  the  people  had  been  made  wanton  by 
many  ages  of  prosperity."  ^^  An  assembly  having  been 
called  in  November,  1685,  a  majority  of  the  members 
refused  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  fundamen- 
tal constitutions,  because  they  deemed  that  writing  to 
be  genuine  which  the  proprietors  had  transmitted  as  a 
sketch.  These  were  excluded  the  house,  as  men  who 
struck  at  the  very  foundation  of  the  government.  But, 
protesting  against  the  validity  of  laws  that  should  be 
made  by  a  minority  of  the  commons,  they  retired  into 
the  country  ;  spreading  their  own  principles  and  discon- 
tents among  a  people  whose  minds  had  been  already 
prepared  to  listen  to  both  with  favour.  When  a  new 
parliament  was  therefore  called,  in  the  year  1687,  "they 
chose  members,  says  their  historian,  to  oppose  whatsoever 
the  governor  proposed."  ^^  From  an  assembly,  which 
convened  in  such  a  disposition,  no  laws,  either  salutary 
or  evil,  were  to  be  expected.  Animated  by  the  perti- 
nacity natural  to  the  discontented,  it  refused  to  settle  a 
militia- act,  though  the  safety  of  the  province  depended 
"upon  it :  And,  "  because  some  members  were  not  hu- 
moured in  every  thing,  they  declined  to  pass  any  law  at 
all."  Apprehensive,  during  this  situation  of  affairs,  of 
an  invasion  from  the  Spaniards  and  their  Indian  allies, 
the  governor  published  an  ordinance,  declaring  martial 
law,  and  requiring  every  one  to  appear  in  arms  for  the 
defence  of  the  province.  However  necessary,  however 
consistent  with  the  declarations  of  the  charter,  this  mea- 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  325 

sure  was  certainly  imprudent,  because  the  colonists 
were  more  inclined  to  turn  their  arms  against  their  ruler, 
than  against  the  public  enemy :  And  his  opponents  gave 
out,  that  nothing  more  was  intended  than  to  acquire  for 
himself  the  monopoly  of  the  Indian  trade.  He  entirely 
lost  what  it  is  of  the  greatest  consequence  for  all  rulers 
to  possess,  the  affections  of  the  people,  because  every 
thing  was  behoved  of  the  objects  of  their  dislike.  By 
the  dissolution  of  the  assembly,  the  province  was  left 
destitute  of  any  statute-law  as  a  rule  of  conduct.  Though 
all  parties  lately  rejoiced  in  the  felicity  of  James  for  the 
birth  of  a  son,  William  and  Mary  were  soon  after  pro- 
claimed with  an  apathy,  which  shews  how  much 
they  were  interested  in  the  distracted  state  of  their  own 
affairs,^^  which  all  governors  ought  to  dread  as  the  great- 
est misfortune,  because  a  government  that  is  looked  up 
to  with  indifference  is  already  undone. 

During  this  ferment,  Seth  Sothel,whom  v/e  have  seen 
banished  from  Albemarle,  and  recalled  by  the  proprie- 
taries to  justify  his  conduct,  suddenly  arrived  at  Charles- 
Town.  Countenanced  by  a  powerful  faction,  and 
presuming  on  his  powers  as  a  proprietary,  he  seiz- 
ed the  reins  of  government,  in  the  year  1690,  notwith- 
standing the  opposition  of  the  governor  and  council,^^ 
who  protested  in  vain  when  the  public  voice  ran  in  his 
favour.  He  easily  granted  the  prayer  of  petitions 
whif^-'h  had  been  suggested  by  himself  for  convening  a 
parliament :  And,  during  the  distraction  of  the  times, 
it  was  easy  to  procure  the  general  return  of  members, 
who  were  ready  to  sanctify  by  their  vote-s  whatsoever 
should  be  dictated  by  those  who  had  thus  acquired 
power.  Colleton,  whose  conduct  had  been  far  from 
blameless, ^^  was  instantly  impeached  of  high  crimes 
and  misdemeanours,  and  disabled  from  holding  any  of- 


326  POLITICAL  ANNALS    OF    CAROLINA. 

fice,  and  banished.  Others,  who  were  accused  of  abett- 
ing his  tyranny,  were  fined,  imprisoned,  and  expelled 
the  province.  But  the  proprietaries  heard  with  astonish- 
ment, of  the  proceedings  of  Sothel  and  his  parliament ; 
and,  considering  the  whole  as  illegal,  dissented  from 
laws  which  partook  so  much  of  the  violence  and  ir- 
regularity of  the  framers  of  them.^^  They  wrote  the 
strongest  letters  of  recal  to  the  man,  whom,  though  a 
proprietary,  they  considered  as  an  usurper ;  threaten- 
ing, if  he  refused  to  obey,  to  lay  his  proceedings  be- 
fore the  king,  to  procure  a  mandamus  "  to  compel  his 
appearance  in  England. "^^  They  appointed  a  new 
governor,  in  the  year  1692,  with  orders  "to inquire  into 
the  grievances  complained  of,  and  to  inform  what  was 
best  to  be  done."^*'  They  granted  to  the  inhabitants  a 
general  pardon  for  crimes  formerly  committed  :  ^'  And 
in  April,  1693,  they  resolved  :  "That,  as  the  people 
have  declared  they  would  rather  be  governed  by  the 
powers  granted  by  the  charter,  without  regard  to  the 
fundamental  constitutions,  it  will  be  for  their  quiet,  and 
the  protection  of  the  well-disposed,  to  grant  their  re- 
quest.'"' 

Thus,  at  the  end  of  three  and  twenty  years,  perished 
the  labours  of  Locke :  Thus  was  abrogated,  upon  the 
requisition  of  the  Carolinians,  who  had  scarcely  known 
one  day  of  real  enjoyment,  a  system  of  laws  which  had 
been  orio-inally  intended  to  remain  for  ever  sacred; 
which,  far  from  having  answered  their  end,  introduced 
only  dissatisfaction  and  disorders,  that  were  cured  at 
length  by  the  final  dissolution  of  the  proprietary  govern- 
ment. The  Carolinian  annals  shew  all  projectors  the 
vanity  of  attempting  to  make  laws  for  a  people,  whose 
voice,  proceeding  from  their  principles,  must  be  for  ever 
the  supreme  law.     How  inadequate  must  have  been  the 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  327 

constitutions,  or  how  defective  the  execution,  which  nei- 
ther ensured  obedience  to  the  proprietaries,  nor  satisfac- 
tion to  the  governed!  It  was  not  till  seven  and  twenty 
years  after  that  this  province  acquired  the  present  apella- 
tions  of  North  and  South  Carolina  :  It  was  not  till  it 
was  blessed  with  a  simple  form  of  government  that  it 
began  to  prosper;  when  the  one  acquired  the  manufac- 
ture of  naval  stores,  the  other  the  production  of  rice  and 
indigo ;  which  have  made  both,  in  modern  times,  popu- 
lous, wealthy  and  great. 


AUTHORITIES   AND  NOTES. 

^  L' Escarbot's  Hist,  of  N.  France,  p.  225,  401; 
which  was  written  by  an  advocate  of  Paris  as  early  as 
the  year  1606.  —  ^  Hackluyt's  Voy.  IV.  p.  737-48-70. 
—  '  Carolina  Ent.  IV.  p.  6.  —  *  Hutch.  Hist.  Mass.  IV. 
p.  226.  —  '  Carol.  Ent.  IV.  p.  1-15.  — ^b. 

^  See  Sir  William  Berkeley's  instructions, .  Car.  Ent. 
IV.  p.  4 ;  and  see  p.  22-29.  The  subjoined  letter  from 
the  proprietaries  to  that  gentleman  not  only  throws  con- 
siderable light  on  this  obscure  portion  of  the  history  of 
Carolina,  but  will  explain  to  the  planter  and  to  the 
practical  lawyer,  the  reason  that  the  most  ancient  pa- 
tents for  land  of  this  colony  are  signed  by  William 
Berkeley. — From  Car.  Ent.  IV.  p.  6. 


328  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF    CAROLINA. 

Cockpit,  8  Sept.  1663. 
"Sir, 

"  Since  you  left  us  we  have  endeavoured  to  procure, 
and  have  at  length  obtained,  his  majesty's  charter  for 
the  province  of  Carolina :  A  copy  of  which  we  do 
herewith  send  you.  Since  the  sealing  whereof  there 
hath  started  a  title,  under  a  patent  granted  in  the  5  year 
of  king  Charles  I.  to  Sir  Kobert  Heath,  under  which 
there  hath  been  a  claim  by  the  duke  of  Norfolk's  agents, 
and  another  by  Sir  Richard  Greenfield's  heirs  ;  but  that 
all  those  that  shall  plant  notwithstanding  that  patent  are, 
by  an  act  of  king  and  council,  secured,  and  that  patent 
by  king  and  council  made  null,  and  ordered  to  be  made 
so  by  the  king's  attorney  in  the  courts  of  law ; .  a  copy 
of  which  order  we  herewith  send  you;  so  that  no  per- 
son need  scruple  planting  under  our  patent :  Besides, 
we  have  many  more  advantages  than  is  in  the  other  to 
encourage  the  undertakers.  We  are  informed,  that 
there  are  some  people  settled  on  the  north-east  part  of 
the  river  Chowan,  and  that  others  have  inclinations  to 
plant  there,  as  also  the  larboard  side,  entering  of  the 
same  river  ;  so  that  we  hold  it  convenient  that  a  govern- 
ment be  forthwith  appointed  for  that  colony ;  And  for 
that  end  we  have,  by  captain  Whittey,  sent  you  a  pow- 
er to  constitute  one  or  two  governors  and  councils,  and 
other  ojfficers  ;  unto  which  power  we  refer  ourselves,  we 
having  only  reserved  the  nomination  of  a  surveyor  and 
secretary,  as  officers  that  will  be  fit  to  take  care  of  your 
and  our  interests ;  the  one  by  faithfully  laying  out  all 
lands,  the  other  by  justly  recording  the  same.  We  do 
likewise  send  you  proposals,  to  all  that  will  plant,  which 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  329 

we  prepared  upon  receipt  of  a  paper  from  persons 
that  desired  to  settle  near  Cape  Fear,  in  which  our  con- 
siderations are  as  low  as  it  is  possible  for  us  to  descend. 
This  was  not  intended  for  your  meridian,  where  we 
hope  to  find  more  facile  people ;  who  by  your  interest, 
may  settle  upon  better  terms  for  us,  which  w6  leave  to  your 
management,  with  our  opinion  that  you  grant  as  much  as 
is  possible,  rather  than  deter  any  from  planting  there. 
By  our  instructions  and  proposals  you  will  see  what  pro- 
portions of  land  we  intend  for  each  master  and  servant, 
and  in  what  manner  to  be  allowed ;  but  we  understand  Jhat 
the  people  that  are  there  have  bought  great  tracts  of  land 
from  the  Indians  ;  which,  if  they  shall  enjoy,  will  weak- 
en the  plantation :  first,  because  those  persons  will  pro- 
bably keep  all  those  lands  to  themselves,  and  so  make 
the  neighbourhood  of  others  remote  from  their  assist- 
ance, in  case  of  danger :  secondly,  if  any  new  comers 
would  settle  near  their  habitations,  they  will  not,  perad- 
venture,  admit  it  without  purchasing,  and  possibly  upon 
hard  terms,  which  will  discourage  people  from  planting: 
Wherefore  it  is  our  resolution  and  desire  that  you  per- 
suade or  compel  those  persons  to  be  satisfied  with  such 
proportions  as  we  allot  to  others,  which  will  be  more 
than  any  such  number  of  men,  to  and  for  whom  these 
proportions  are  to  be  given,  can  manage,  and  therefore 
enough ;  more  will  but  scatter  the  people,  and  render 
them  liable  to  be  easily  destroyed  by  any  enemy ;  so 
that  the  fixing  the  way  that  our  instructions  mention, 
will  be  the  best  course  of  settling  as  we  conceive  :  How- 
ever, we  do  leave  it  to  you  that  are  on  the  place  and 
can  best  judge.  The  reason  of  giving  you  power  to  set- 
tle two  governors,  that  is,  of  either  side  of  the  river  one, 
is,  because  some  persons  that  are  for  liberty  of  con- 
science may  desire  a  governor  of  their  own  proposing, 

42 


330  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

which  those  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  may  not  so 
well  like  ;  and  our  desire  being  to  encourage  those  peo-, 
pie  to  plant  abroad,   and  to  stock  well  those  parts  with 
planters  incite  us  to  comply  always  with  all  sorts  of  per- 
sons, as  far  as  possibly  we  can.     You  will  be  best  able 
to  judge  when  you  hear  all  partieSj  and  therefore  refer 
the  thing  wholly  to  you.     The  entrance  into  Chowan 
river  is  difficult,  and  water  but  for  small  vessels.     But 
we  understand  that  there  is  an  entrance,  bold  and  deep 
w;ater  in  the  latitude  of  34,  which  is  near  the  rivers  call- 
ed the  Neus  and  Pemlico,  which  we  conceive  may  be 
best  discovered  from  your  parts.     In  order  to  which  we 
desire  you  to  procure  at  freight  or  otherwise  some  small 
vessel,  that  draws  little  water,  to  make  that  discovery 
and  some  others  into  the  Sound,  through  which  great 
ships  may,  peradventure;  come  to  Chowan,  and  give  us 
admittance  into  the  other  brave  rivers  that  lie  in  the 
Sound ;  and,  whilst  they  are  abroad  they  may  look  into 
Charles-river,   a  very  httle  to  the  southward  of  Cape 
Fear,   and  give  us  an  account  of  what  is  there.     This 
work  we  hold  necessary  to  be  done,  that  the  king  may 
see  we  sleep  not  with  his  grant,  but  are  promoting  his 
service,  and  his  subjects'  profit.     By  captain  Whittey's 
relation,  you  may  easily  pass  by  land  and  river  from 
your  government  to  Chowan  river,  and  ride  but  twenty- 
five  miles  by  land,  which  makes  us  presume  earnestly 
to  entreat  you  to  make  a  journey  thither,  whereby  you 
may,  upon  your  own  knowledge,  give  us  your  opinion  of 
it,  and  direct  such  discoveries  to  be  made  by  that  river 
as  you  shall  see  fit.     We  remain,  &c." 

^  Car.  Ent.  1  v.  p.  8-10-12-18-20.—'  See  this  charter, 
in  Car.  Ent.  N°.  2.  p.  1-38. — The  proprietaries,  writing 
to  colonel  Ludwel,  the  governor,  in  April,  1693,  remark- 
ed: "  We  are  informed,  that  some  in  CaroHna  say,  the 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  331 

laws  of  England  are  not  in  force  there  :  But,  by  those 
gentlemen's  favour,  who  so  say,  it  is  expressed  in  our 
grant  from  the  crown,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Carolina 
shall  be  of  the  king's  allegiance,  which  makes  them  sub- 
ject to  the  laws  of  England. — lb.  p.  219. — Such  were 
the  sentiments  of  rulers  and  people  during  that  age.  Yet 
the  inference  of  the  proprietaries  seems  extremely  just : 
That,  as  the  Carolinians  were  English  subjects  they  ne- 
cessarily owed  subjection  to  English  laws.  For  it  is  a 
proposition  which  at  first  sight  appears  extremely  incon- 
gruous, and  not  easily  proved ;  that  the  rules  prescribed 
by  the  legislature  of  a  state  are  not  all  equally  obligatory 
on  the  people  of  the  same  state. 

^°  Com.  Jour.  9  v.  p.  16.—"  Car.  Ent.  1  v.  p.  18-19. 
— ^^  lb.  p.  23-48-52. — ^^  There  is  a  printed  copy  of  the 
constitutions  among  the  papers  of  Carolina;  a  copy  is 
subjoined  to  the  works  of  the  author.  It  is  a  remarkable 
singularity  in  the  history  of  this  province,  that  the  iden- 
tity of  the  instrument  which  was  designed  to  be  its 
great  charter  was  disputed.  The  proprietaries  trans- 
mitted, in  July,  1669,  a  rough  sketch  of  what  was  in  con- 
templation, and  the  perfect  constitutions  were  signed  by 
them  in  the  subsequent  March:  The  former,  being 
most  favourable  to  the  interests  of  the  people,  were  ac- 
cepted; the  latter  were  soon  after  denied  to  be  genuine, 
and  exploded:  And  this  was  the  chief' cause  of  the  abro- 
gation of  that  famous  system,  in  the  year  1693. — Car. 
Ent.  2  V.  p.  109-9 ;  and  see  the  representation  to  Seth 
Sothel,  in  old  Ent.  W.  2. 

"  Car.  Ent.  1  v.  p.  31-46-81.— ''  lb.  p.  66-71. 

^^  lb.  p.  66-72-9-93.  The  subjoined  letter  from  the 
proprietaries,  to  the  governor  and  council  at  Ashley-river, 
illustrates. this, obscure  part  of  its  annals,  and  will  de- 
monstrate not  only  the  temper  of  rulers  and  colonists, 


332  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

but  at  whose  expence  the  present  opulent  province  of 
CaroHna  was  planted. 

"  Whitehall;  8  May,  1674. 
"  Gentlemen, 
"  We  have  herewith  sent  a  patent  to  Mr.  West  to  be 
landgrave,  and  a  commission  to  be  governor,  who  has  all 
along,  by  his  care,  fidelity,  and  prudence,  in  the  manage- 
ment of  our  aifairs  to  our  general  satisfaction,  recom- 
mended himself  to  us  as  the  fittest  man  there  for  this 
trust.  This  we  cannot  forbear  plainly  to  say,  though 
we  have  a  great  regard  to  Sir  John  Yeamans,  as  a  con- 
siderable man  that  hath  come  and  settled  amongst  us. 
When  Mr.  West  had  formerly  the  management  of  affairs, 
things  were  then  put  into  such  a  posture  (as  appears  by 
the  act  of  parliament  made  at  the  latter  end  of  his  go- 
vernment, which  we  herewith  send  you  confirmed). 
Then  we  had  some  encouragement  to  send  supplies  to 
men  who  took  into  consideration  how  we  might  be  re- 
imbursed as  well  as  they  could,  which  was  all  we  ex- 
pected :  But  immediately  with  Sir  John  Yeamans's  as- 
suming the  government  the  face  of  things  altered.  The 
first  news  was  of  several  proposals  for  the  increasing  of 
our  charge  ;  the  same  hath  ever  since  continued  on,  and 
in  our  very  last  dispatches  a  scheme  sent  to  us  of  ways 
of  supplying  you,  which  would  presently  require  the  dis- 
bursement of  several  thousand  pounds ;  and  all  this 
without  the  least  mention  of  any  thought  how  we  might 
be  repaid  either  our  past  debts,  which  already  amount 
to  several  thousand  pounds,  or  be  better  answered  for 
the  future  :  But,  instead  thereof,  complaints  made,  and 
reproaches  insinuated,  as  if  we  had  dealt  ill  or  unjustly 
by  you,  because  we  would  not  continue  to  feed  and 
clothe  you  without  expectation  or  demand  of  any  return. 
This,  we  must  let  you  know,  put  a  stop  to  your  supplies 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  333 

more  than  the  Dutch  war:  For  we  thought  it  time  to 
give  over  a  charge  which  was  like  to  have  no  end,  and 
the  country  was  not  worth  the  having  at  that  rate  :  For 
it  must  be  a  bad  soil  that  will  not  maintain  industrious 
people,  or  we  must  be  very  silly  that  would  maintain 
the  idle.  But  w^e  have  no  suspicion  at  all  of  the  barren- 
ness or  any  bad  qualities  of  the  country  ;  which  some 
of  ns  are  so  well  assured  of,  that  at  their  own  private 
charge  they  are  going  to  settle  a  plantation  at  Edisto, 
without  expecting  a  farthing  assistance  from  us.  That 
Sir  John  Yeamans's  management  has  brought  things  to 
this  pass,  we  are  well  satisfied;  which  yet  we  cannot 
charge  upon  his  mistake ;  the  character  we  have  received 
of  him,  and  his  long  acquaintance  with  Barbadoes  and 
the  world,  give  us  other  thoughts  of  him ;  and  perhaps 
it  would  very  well  have  served  his  purpose  if  we  had 
supplied  you,  and  he  had  reaped  the  profits  of  your  la- 
bour at  his  own  rates,  and  our  own  plantation  been  so 
ordered,  that,  in  reputation,  people,  and  improvement, 
it  might  arrive  at  no  other  pitch  than  to  be  subservient, 
in  provisions  and  timber,  to  the  interest  of  Barbadoes. 
Considering  at  what  rates  Sir  John  bought  your  poor 
planters  provisions  in  their  necessity,  and  how  industri- 
ous and  useful  to  you  the  generality  of  the  people  that 
came  from  Barbadoes  have  been,  and  then  tell  us  whe- 
ther we  have  not  reason  to  be  of  this  mind  :  For  we 
would  not  have  those  that  went  from  hence  (whom  we 
are  still  willing  to  encourage)  be  any  longer  misled ; 
and  the  people  that  have  come  to  you  from  New- York 
and  the  northward  have,  by  their  planting  and  way 
of  living  amongst  you,  fully  satisfied  us  that  they 
are  friends  to,  and  do  in  earnest  mean  and  desire 
the  settlement  and  prosperity  of  our  province.  Being 
therefore   willing    to   give   all  reasonable   encourage- 


334  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

ment  to  honest   and  industrious  men,  we   have   sent 
another  supply  for  clothes  and  tools,  and  have  entered 
into    an   engagement    one   to     another   to    send    one 
yearly  to   you,  whereby  our  stores   shall  never  want 
necessaries  for  the  use  of  the  industrious  planter,  to  be 
had  at  moderate  rates  by  those  that  will  pay  for  them : 
Yet   we    do  not  intend  any  more  carelessly  to  throw 
away  our   stock   and   charges   upon  the   idle :     For, 
though  we,   the  lords  proprietors,  have  tied  one  another 
by  covenant,  that  none  shall  be  behind  other  in  the 
charge  of  carrying  on  this  plantation,  yet  we  are  all 
agreed  not  to  make  anymore  desperate  debts  amongst  you 
though  we  intend  to  be  at  the  charge  of  procuring  vines, 
olives,  or  any  other  useful  plants  or  commodities  fit  for 
y  our  climate  out  of  any  part  of  the  world,  and  men  skilled 
in  the  management  of  them.    And  therefore,  if  you.  intend 
to  have  supplies  for  the  future,  you  will  do  well  to  con- 
sider how  you  are  to  pay  us,  in  what  commodities  you 
can  best  do  it,  and  how  the  trade  of  those  commodities 
you  can  produce  may  be  so  managed  as  to  turn  to  ac- 
count :     For,  in  our  trade  with  you,  we  aim  not  at  the 
profit  of  merchants,  but  the   encouragement   of  land- 
lords.    In  your  letter  you  have  been   frequent   in  the 
mention  of  a  stock  of  cattle  ;  but,  not  having  paid  us  for 
tools  and  clothes,  how  do  you  think  that  we  should  be 
at  so  far  a  greater  charge  in  cattle  ?     You  say  it  will 
enable  you  to  pay  your  debts  ;    but  do  you  not  think, 
if  we  bring  cattle  thither,  we,  who  do  not  want  ground, 
can  keep  them,  and  make  the  profit  of  our  charge,  and 
venture  as  well  as  others,  especially  it  being  our  design 
to  have  planters  there  and  not  graziers !     For  if  our  in- 
clinations were  to  stock  Carolina  at  that  rate,  we  could 
do  better  by  bailiffs  and  servants  of  our  own,  who  would 
be  more  observant  of  our  orders  than  you  have  been ; 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  335 

plant  in  towns  where  we  directed  them  ;  take  up  no 
more  land  than  what  they  had  use  for;  nor  by  a  scat- 
tered settlement,  and  large  tracts  of  land  taken  up, 
not  like  to  be  planted  these  many  years,  exclude 
others  from  coming  near  them ;  and  yet  complain  for 
want  of  neighbours.  We  rest  your  very  affectionate 
friends, 

"Craven,  Shaftesbury,  G.  Carteret." 

'  ^^ Car.  Ent.  I  .v.  p.  111-17-18.  —  '^Ib.  Car.  Pap.  p. 
255.  —  ^^  Same  Papers,  p.  224-46.  —  ^"  Laws,  Virg.  p. 
127.  —  ^^  Miller  collected,  from  July  to  December,  1677, 
327,068  lb.  weight  of  tobacco,  and  12421.  8s.  Id.  ster- 
ling; being  the  parliamentary  duty  of  one  penny  a 
pound  on  tobacco  exported  to  other  colonies  :  As  al- 
most the  whole  was  sent  to  New-England,  whence  it 
was  carried  all  over  Europe,  the  annual  parliamentary 
revenue  arising  in  that  little  colony,  amounted  to  30001. 
sterling,  though  it  was  very  badly  collected.  Car. 
pap.  p.  246.  —  ^^  lb.  255.  —  ^^  Among  the  same  papers 
there  are  several  affidavits,  which  uniformly  assert: 
That  the  traders  of  New-England  were  extremely  active 
in  fomenting  and  supporting  the  rebellion;  see  p.  303- 
17.  —  A  person,  who  was  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Boston  ambassador,  was  extremely  active  among  the 
late  regulators  of  North-Carolina.  The  masters  and 
sailors  of  the  ships  of  New-England  were  equally 
instrumental  in  promoting  the  more  recent  disturb- 
ances of  that  province.  Mankind  should  make  a 
common  cause  against  a  people  whose  rooted  principles 
necessarily  incite  them  to  disturb  the  repose  of  their 
neighbours.  —  ^^  lb.  225-55. 


u  24 


The  following  remonstrance  of  the  inhabitants  of 


336  POLITICAL  ANNALS    OF    CAROLINA. 

Pasquetanke,  to  all  the  rest  of  the  county  of  Albemarle, 
(from  Car.  Pap.  p.  299.)  will  shew  the  extent  of  the 
talents  of  the  framers  of  it,  and  of  the  iinderstandinsrs  of 
the  men  who  could  be  influenced  by  it. 

"  First,  the  occasion  of  their  seizing"  the  records  and 
imprisoning  the  president,  is,  that  thereby  the  county 
may  have  a  free  parliament,  and  that  from  them  their 
grievances  may  be  sent  home  to  the  lords ;  which  are 
briefly  these:  In  the  first  place,  (omitting  many  hei- 
nous matters,)  he  denied  a  free  election  of  an  assembly, 
and  hath  positively  cheated  the  country  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  which  hath 
raised  the  levy  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  to- 
bacco a  head  more  than  otherwise  it  would  have  been ; 
besides,  near  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco  charge 
he  hath  brought  upon  us  by  liis  piping-guard.  And  now 
captain  Gillam  is  come  among  us  with  three  times  the 
goods  he  brought  last  year,  but  had  not  been  two  hours 
ashore,  but,  for  the  slip  of  a  word,  was  arrested  for  one 
thousand  pounds  sterling ;  and  many  affronts  and  indig- 
nities put  upon  him  by  the  president  himself;  insomuch 
that  had  he  not  been  earnestly  persuaded  by  some,  he 
had  gone  directly  out  of  the  country  :  And  the  same 
night,  about  midnight,  he  went  on  board  with  a  brace  of 
pistols :  and,  presenting  one  of  them  cocked  to  Mr. 
George  Durand's  breast,  and  with  his  other  arrested  him 
as  a  traitor.  And  many  other  injuries,  mischiefs,  and 
grievances,  he  hath  brought  upon  us,  that  thereby  an 
inevitable  ruin  is  coming,  (unless  prevented,)  which  we 
are  now  about  to  do,  and  hope  and  expect  that  you  will 
join  with  us  therein :  And  subscribed  this  the  3d  De-  • 
cember,  1677. 

"  Signed  by  thirty-four  persons." 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  -337 

^^  The  two  subjoined  papers  will  throw  sufficient 
light  on  the  origin  and  progress  of  an  insurrection,  which 
has  been  so  little  noticed  by  historians,  which  has  hither- 
to remained  in  perfect  obscurity. 

Extract  of  the  case  of  the  commotions  of  Albemarle,  pre- 
sented by   the  proprietaries  to  the  committee  of  fo- 
V    reign  plantations. — From  Carolina  Papers,   p.    255. 

"  Mr.  Cartwright,  the  governor,  returning  to  England, 
left  the  government  in  ill  order  and  worse  hands  ;  the 
proprietaries  resolved  to  send  another  governor,  and 
such  a  one  as  would  put  in  execution  their  instructions, 
orders,  and  designs :  The  former  governors  having 
very  much  failed  them,  especially  in  two  points.  The 
first  was,  the  encouraging  the  New-England  trade 
there ;  the  second,  the  discouraging  the  planting  on  the 
South-side  of  the  river  Albemarle.  The  latter  was  ex- 
tremely the  interest  of  the  proprietaries,  but  crossed 
always  by  the  governors  and  some  of  the  chief  of  the 
country,  who  had  engrossed "  the  Indian  trade,  and 
feared  that  it  would  be  intercepted  by  those  that 
should  plant  farther  amongst  them.  The  illness 
of  the  harbour  was  the  cause  that  this  northern  part 
of  Carolina  had  no  other  vent  for  their  commodities, 
but  either  by  Virginia,  where  they  paid  a  duty  to  the 
governor,  or  to  New-England,  who  were  the  only  im- 
mediate traders,  and  ventured  in  small  vessels ;  and 
had  so  managed  their  affairs  that  they  bought  their 
goods  at  very  lovv^  rates ;  eat  out  and  ruined  the  place ; 
defrauded  the  king  of  his  customs ;  and  yet  governed 
the  people  against  their  own  interests.  To  cure  these 
evils,  the  proprietaries  made  choice  of  one  Mr.  East- 
church  to  be  their  governor  ;  whom  we   dispatched  in 

43 


338  POLITICAL   ANNALS  OF   CAROLINA. 

summer  1677,  together  with  Mr.  Miller,  who  was  the 
king's    officer,  and  made   by  ns   one  of  our  deputies. 
They  took  their  passage  to  Mevis :  where  Mr.  East- 
church,    meeting   with    a   woman  of    a    considerable 
fortune,  married  her,  and  sent  away  Mr.  Miller  to  Ca- 
rolina, to  settle  affairs  against  his  coming,  who  carried 
with  him  a  commission,  as  president  of  the  council,  till 
his  arrival,  with  very  full  powers.     He  was  quietly  re- 
ceived and  submitted  to  as  governor  and  collector.     In 
discharge  of  the  last  he  made  considerable  progress. 
But,  as  governor,  he  did  many  very  extravagant  things; 
whereby  he  lost  the  affections   of  the   people.     In  the 
meantime  there  arrived  captain  Gillam,  in  a  small  arm- 
ed vessel,  with    Durant;    and   about    the    same  time 
Culpeper,   who,  finding  that  Miller  had  lost  his  inte- 
rest,    stirred  up  a    commotion ;    seized  him    and   all 
the  writings  belonging  to  the  proprietaries,  and  the  to- 
bacco belonging  to  the  king's  customs  ;  which  they  em- 
ployed in  supporting  their  unlawful  actions.     Culpeper 
was  a  very  ill  man,  having  some  time  before  fled  from 
South- Carolina,  where  he  was  in   danger   of  hanging, 
for   endeavouring  to    set   the  poor  people   to    plunder 
the  rich.     Gillam,  he,  Crawford,  and  some  other  New- 
England  men,  had  a  design  (as  we  conceive)  to  get  the 
trade  of  this  part  of  the  country  into  their  own  hands  for 
some  years  at[  least :     And  not  only  defraud  the  king  of 
all  his  customs,    but  buy  goods  of  the  inhabitants  at 
their  own  rates.     When  these  'men  had  formed  them- 
selves into  what  Culpeper  calls  the  government  of  the 
country,    Mr.   Eastchurch    arrives  in   Virginia,  whose 
commission  and  authority  they  had  not  the  least  reason 
to  dispute  ;  yet  they  kept  him  out  by  force   of  arms,  so 
that  he  was  constrained  to  apply  to  the  governor  of 
Virginia  for  assistance  to  reduce  them ;  which  had  been 


POLITICAL  ANNALS     OF  CAROLINA.  339 

done,  but  he  unfortunately  died.  Presently  after  the 
insurgents  sent  two  commissioners  to  promise  all  obedi- 
ence to  the  proprietaries,  but  insisting  very  highly  for 
right  against  Miller." 

Extract  of  a  representation,  presented  to  the  proprietaries. 
From  Carol.  Pap.  p.  225. 

"  The  rebellion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Albemarle  was 
not  accidental ;  or  arose  from  any  sudden  provocation ; 
but  rather  was  the  effect  of  a  deliberate  contrivance, 
which  appears  from  these  particulars,  that  can  be 
proved  by  undoubted  witnesses.  The  heads  of  the  Re- 
bellion, at  several  times,  disturbing  the  courts  of  justice, 
subverting  the  government,  dissolving  parliaments : 
their  industrious  labour  to  be  popular,  by  continually 
making  factions  and  parties  ;  their  poisoning  the  peoples 
ears  and  disquieting  their  minds,  by  diffusing  abroad 
dangerous  and  false  reports ;  namely,  that  the  proprie- 
taries intended  to  raise  the  quit-rents  to  two-pence,  and 
from  that  to  six-pence,  an  acre ;  their  general  arming 
upon  the  first  appearance  of  Gillam's  ship  in  Pasque- 
tanke  river,  and  imprisoning  the  proprietaries  deputies, 
and  putting  the  president  in  irons  ;  their  arrogating  to 
themselves  the  supreme  power,  by  first  dissolving,  then 
erecting,  courts  of  justice ;  by  convening  parliaments 
without  writs  ;  and  appointing  all  officers." 

The  subjoined  report  of  the  lords  of  the  committee  of 
plantations,  will  shew  the  sentiments  of  the  ministers  of 
England  with  regard  to  this  insurrection.  —  From  Car. 
Pap.  p.  249. 

"  May  it  please  your  majesty, 
"  In  obedience  to  your  majesty's  order  of  council,  of 


340  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

the  4th  instant,  we  have  heard  the  complaint  of  the 
commissioners  of  the  customs  against  John  Culpeper  ; 
and,  being  attended  by  the  lords  proprietaries  of  Caroli- 
na, we  are  fully  satisfied  that  the  said  John  Culpeper 
hath,  by  divers  seditious  practices,  abetted  and  en- 
couraged a  rebellion  in  that  province  ;  whereby  seven 
of  the  lawful  magistrates,  deputies  to  the  lords  proprie- 
taries, were  all  imprisoned,  (the  eighth  of  them  only 
being  drawn  into  that  confederacy,)  and  that  the  said 
John  Culpeper,  by  colour  and  force  of  that  rebellious 
authority,  imprisoned  the  collector  of  your  majesty's  cus- 
toms ;  and,  having  seized  into  his  own  hands  the  cus- 
toms belonging  to  your  majesty,  did,  by  a  proclamation 
in  his  own  name,  declare  himself  the  lawful  collector, 
endamaging  your  majesty's  customs  to  a  considerable 
value.  All  which  being  proved  upon  oath  before  us,  the 
said  Culpeper  acknowledged  the  facts,  and  lays  himself 
at  your  majesty's  feet  for  your  gracious  pardon.  And,  in 
case  your  majesty  shall  not  think  fit  to  extend  your  mer- 
cy towards  him,  he  desires  he  may  be  tried  m  Carolina, 
where  the  fact  was  committed.  But,  withal,  the  com- 
missioners of  your  majesty's  customs  humbly  beseech 
your  majesty,  that  no  favour  may  be  shewed  him  unless 
he  make  or  procure  satisfaction  for  the  customs  seized 
and  embezzled  by  him,  which  we  are  informed  do 
amount  to  three  thousand  pounds  sterling.  All  which, 
&c. 

Anglesey,  Worcester,  Lauderdale, 

Bridgewater,    L.  Hyde,      H.  Coventry." 

^'Car.  Pap.  p.  283.  — '^  Mod.  Un.  Hist.  40  v.  p.  424- 
5 ;  Brit.  Emp.  Am.  1.  v.  p.  333.  —  ^^  Reports,  349.  — 
''  3d  Institute,  p.  11-113.  —  ''  lb.  p.  11. ;  Hale's  Hist. 
Pleas  of  the  crown,   1  vol.  p.   156.  —  ^^  State  Trials,   1 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  341 

vol;  p  181.  —  ''  Mod.  Univer.  Hist.  40  vol.  p.  147-154. 
— ^*  Foster's  Crown-Law,  8vo.  edit.  p.  412.  —  The  fol- 
lowing opinion  of  the  attorney  and  solicitor  general  of 
Barbadoes,  delivered  officially  to  the  governor,  displays 
the  sentiments  of  colonial  larvyers  during  that  age  on 
this  important  point  of  English  jurisprudence.  —  From 
Record,  Plantations  Gen.  C.  475. 

"  We  are  humbly  of  opinion,  that,  as  long  as  the  stat. 
35  Hen.  VIII.  ch.  2.  continues  in  force,  no  person 
whatsoever  can  be  tried  in  this  island  for  a  foreign 
treason  without  a  special  commission  from  her  majesty 
for  that  purpose.  The  said  statute  positively  directing 
that  all  foreign  treasons  shall  be  tried  either  in  the  king- 
dom of  England,  or  by  a  special  commission  from  her 
majesty  :  And  such  always  has  been  the  exposition  of 
that  statute. 

E.  Chilton, 

12  Jan.  1703-4.  W.  Rawlin." 

^*  See  Bigg's  proposals  for  suppressing  the  revolt. 
Car.  Pap.  224 ;  and  the  representations  of  the  proprie- 
taries, lb.  275.  —  ^^  Car.  Ent.  1  v.  p.  135-7-72-3.— 
^®  See  the  address  of  several  inhabitants  to  Charles  11. 
praying  for  protection ;  and  Bigg's  letter  and  deposition. 
Car.  Pap.  p.  267-71.—'^  Car.  Ent.  2  v.  p.  177-8.— ^^  lb. 
p.  157-9. — ^^See  the  proprietaries  letter  to  the  govern- 
or, council,  and  inhabitants. 

^'^  Car.  Ent.  1  v.  p.  93-120. — The  governor's  salary, 
during  that  age,  was  only  lOOl.  sterling  a  year.  lb. 
125-164;  Car.  Ent.  2  v.  p.  42;  and  Car.  Pap.  p.  1-20. — 
*'  Car.  Ent.  1  v.  p.  130;  2  v.  p.  180.— ^^  Car.  Ent.  1  v. 
p.  176-9-84 ;  lb.  2  v.  p.  9-15-28.—'^^  lb.  p.  36.—^  lb.  p. 


342  POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA. 

50-4.— .45 1^  p  20-4.-4'^  lb.  p.  75-9.—'^'  lb.  p.  130  4.—'^'  lb. 
p.  106.—^^  lb.  p.  121.—'°  lb.  p.  82. 

'^  The  following  papers  will  illustrate  and  support  the 
text,  and  shew  the  principles  and  conduct  of  all  parties. 

Part  of  a  letter  from  George  Muschamp,  the  first  collector 
of  Charles- To?vn,  dated  11  April,  1687,  to  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  customs. — From  Car,  Ent.  2  v.  p.  373. 

"  I  have  received  your  letter  and  instructions,  which 
I  shall  endeavour  to  follow  ;  but  fear  it  will  be  difficult 
to  maintain  the  acts  of  navigation :  It  being  not  a  week 
since  I  had  a  trial  with  a  master  of  a  vessel  for  that  he 
was  navigated  with  four-fifths  Scotchmen ;  but  I  own 
the  evidence  was  not  very  clear ;  for  which  reason  the 
court  gave  it  against  me.  However,  m  effect  it  was  de- 
clared, that,  if  it  had  been  never  so  clear,  they  would 
have  pleaded  the  benefit  of  their  charter ;  pretending 
that  it  gives  them  power  to  trade  with  Scotland  and 
Ireland,  and  likewise  that  the  natives  have  liberty  to 
transport  their  own  product  in  ships  navigated  with 
Scotchmen ;  which  I  am  sure  is  agamst  the  law,  rvhich 
the  people  helieve  to  he  of  no  force  against  their  charter, 
which  was  granted  after  the  act  was  passed^ — Remark. 
It  hath  been  shown  that  Scotchmen  might  navigate 
English  ships,  because  they  were  considered  in  notion 
of  law  as  natural-born  subjects  :  Hence  we  may  infer 
that  Muschamp's  opinion  w^as  erroneous. 

Report  of  the  attorney-general,  to  whom  this  letter  was 
referred. — From  Car.  Ent.  2  v.  p  375. 

"  May  it  please  your  lordships, 
"  I  have  perused  these  papers,  and  have  also  consider- 
ed the  several  statutes  of  Cha.  II.  ch.  18.  of  15  Cha. 


POLITICAL  ANNALS  OF  CAROLINA.  343 

II.  ch.  7.  of  22-3  Cha.  II.  ch.  26.  And  it  is  most  clear, 
that  what,  by  Mr.  Muschamp's  letter  is  held  at  Carolina 
to  be  a  lawful  trade,  is  most  directly  contrary  to  these 
acts  of  parliament,  and,  though  their  charter  be  subse- 
quent to  these  statutes,  by  which  he  says  they  justify, 
yet  is  there  no  colour  for  their  opinion,  unless  within 
their  charter  there  he  also  a  porver  granted  them  to  trade 
contrary  to  these  larvs,  with  express  non-obstantes  to  the 
same :  The  charter  therefore  ought  to  be  inspected ; 
and,  if  it  contains  such  license  and  such  non-obstantes, 
(as  I  am  apt  to  believe  it  doth  not,)  then  there  may  a 
question  arise,  how  far  it  will  be  valid  against  these  acts 
of  parliament;  wherein  if  it  shall  appear  to  be  the  case, 
I  shall  be  ready  to  give  my  opinion,  if  your  lordships 
shall  desire  it. 

"  T.  Powis." 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  the  proprietaries,  to  whom  these 
'papers  were  sent,  to  the  committee  of  plantations, — From 
Car.  Ent.  2  v.  p.  381. 

"  In  obedience  to  your  Lordships  commands,  we  have 
considered  Muschamp's  complaints,  that  the  people  in 
Carolina  pretend  a  right  to  trade  with  Scotland  and  Ire- 
land, contrary  to  the  acts  of  navigation;  which  we  humbly 
conceive  must  be  the  discourse  of  ignorant  and  loose 
people  only,  and  not  of  any  concerned  in  the  govern- 
ment :  For  that  we  have  constantly  commanded  the 
governor  and  council  strictly  to  observe  the  several  acts 
of  trade,  which  we  took  care  to  send  thither :  And,  in  our 
letter  of  10  September,  1685,  we  did  again  remind  them 
of  their  duty  therein,  and  as  soon  as  we  w^ere  acquaint- 
ed that  Mr.  Muschamp  was  appointed  to  be  collector  of 
the  plantation-duties  in  Carolina,   we  did,   (as  in  duty 


344  POLITICAL   ANNALS   OF    CAROLINA. 

bound)  enjoin  the  governor  to  be  assisting  him  ;  so  that 
we  do  no  ways  doubt,  but  that  the  ship  seized  by  Mr. 
Muschamp  would  have  been  condemned  if  there  had 
been  sufficient  proof:  We  neve?'  claiming  or  pretending, 
hy  our  charter,  any  exemption  from  said  acts.  Nor  do 
we  know  what  encouragement  any  ship  from  Scotland 
or  Ireland  can  have  to  trade  to  the  south  parts  of  Caro- 
lina, the  inhabitants  having  hardly  overcome  the  want 
of  victuals,  and  not  as  yet  any  commodity  fit  for  the 
markets  of  Europe,  but  a  few  skins  and  a  Httle  cedar ; 
both  of  which  do  not  amount  yearly  to  £2000." 

A  letter  from  Lord  Shaftesbury  to  Lord  Craven,  the  pala- 
tine, with  regard  to  the  quo-rvarranto,  the  surrender  of 
the  charter,  the  reimbursement  of  the  ezpences  of  the 
settlement. — From  Car.  Ent.  2  v.  p.  369. 

"  St.  Giles's,  7  July,  1686. 
"  My  lord, 

"  I  received  yours ;  but,  not  knowing  upon  what 
grounds  the  quo-warranto  was  intended  to  be  brought 
against  our  patent  for  Carolina,  am  able  to  give  no  result 
upon  it.  There  have  been  considerable  sums  of  money 
disbursed  by  the  proprietaries  to  bring  it  to  this  effect ; 
and,  when  the  patent  is  surrendered,  I  caimot  see  any 
way  by  which  they  will  in  probability  be  reimbursed. 
I  shall  be  as  unwilling  to  dispute  his  majesty's  pleasure 
as  any  man ;  but,  this  being  a  public  concern,  it  is  not 
in  any  particular  man's  power  to  dispose  of  it.  There- 
fore, whatever  shall  be  approved  of  by  the  rest  of  the 
proprietaries,  or  the  majority  of  them,  to  be  done  in  this 
affair,  I  shall  acquiesce  in. 

"  Shaftesbury." 


POLITICAL   ANNALS    OF    CAROLINA.  345 

'"  Car.  Ent.  2  v.  p.  87-103-207.—''  Brit.  Emp.  Am.  1 
V.  p.  345. — '^  lb.  341 ;  see  their  singular  protest  in  old 
Car.  Ent.  N°.  2. — One  of  the  protesting  members  signed 
his  mark,  as  he  could  not  write  :  We  may  thence  form 
an  opinion  of  the  extent  of  his  pohtical  knowledge. — 
''  Car.  Ent.  2  v.  p.  167-8-71.—''  lb.  p.  175.—''  The  gover- 
nor, among  other  irregularities  so  common  during  those 
times,  fined  a  minister  lOOl.  and  imprisoned  him  till 
^ciujTCieni,  for  preaching  a  seditious  sermon  :  But  the  pro- 
prietaries remitted  the  fine,  because  they  deemed  it  ex- 
travagant, lb.  p.  160.—''  lb.  p.  165-6.—''  lb.  p.  177-8.— 
''  Ibr  194.—'^  lb.  213.— '^Ib.  215. 


44 


STATEMENTS 


MADE    IN    THE 


INTRODUCTION    TO    THE    REPORT 


ON 


GENERAL    OGLETHORPE'S 


EXPEDITION 


TO    ST.    AUGUSTINE 


STATEMENTS 


MADE  IN  THE 


INTRODUCTION    TO    THE    REPORT 


ON 


GENERAL  OGLETHORPE'S  EXPEDITION 

TO    ST.    AUGUSTINE. 

[On  the  18th  of  July,  1740,  a  Committee  was  appointed  by  the  Commoks 
House  of  Assembly,  of  the  Province  of  South  Carolina,  Consisting 
of  the  Attorney  General;  Col.  Brewton  ;  Major  Pin chiey  ;  Messrs. 
Dart,  Mazyck,  Drayton,  Motte,  and  Elliott ;  Capts.  Hyrne,  Morris, 
and  Austin;  and  the  Honourable  John  Fenwicke,  John  Colleton, 
and  Edmond  Atkin  ;  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  the  failure  of  the 
Expedition  against  St.  Augustine. — On  the  first  of  July  1741,  this 
respectable  Committee  made  their  REPORT,  in  which  these  state- 
ments are  made,  and  may  be  considered  as  well  authenticated  Facts 
in  our  History.] 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE   REPORT.— 1741. 

St.  Augustine,  in  Possession  of  the  Crown  of  Spain,  is 
well  known  to  be  situated  but  little  distant  from  hence, 
in  tho  Latitude  of  30  Degrees  00  m.  N.  in  Florida,  the 
next  Territory  to  us.  It  is  maintained  by  his  Catholick 
Majesty,  partly  in  order  to  preserve  his  Claim  to  Florida, 
and  partly  that  it  may  be  of  Service  to  the  Plate-Fleets, 
when  coming  through  the  Gidf,  by  showing  Lights  to 
them  along  the  Coast,  and  by  being  ready  to  give  As- 


EXPEDITION  TO  ST.  AUGUSTINE.  349 

sistance  when  any  of  them  are  cast  away  thereabout. 
The  Castle,  by  the  largest  Account,  doth  not  cover  more 
than  One  Acre  of  Ground,  but  is  allowed  on  all  Hands 
to  be  a  Place  of  great  Strength  (being  a  square  Fort 
built  with  soft  Stone,  with  Four  Bastions,  The  Curtain, 
about  Sixty  Yards  in  length,  the  Parapet  Nine  Feet 
thick,  the  Rampart  Trventy  Feet  high,  casemated  under- 
neath for  Lodgings,  arched  over  ;  and  of  late  said  to  be 
made  Bomb-Proof,  having  about  Fifty  Pieces  of  Cannon 
mounted,  some  of  which  are  Trventy  Four  Pounders) 
and  hath  been  usually  garrisoned  with  about  Th'ee  or 
Four  Hundred  Men  of  the  King's  regular  Troops.  The 
Town  is  not  very  large,  and  but  indifferently  fortified. 
The  Inhabitants,  many  of  which  are  Mulatto's  of  savage 
Dispositions,  are  all  in  the  King's  Pay  also,  being  regis- 
ter'd  from  their  Birth,  and  a  severe  Penalty  laid  on  any 
Master  of  a  Vessel  that  shall  attempt  to  carry  any  of 
them  off.  These  are  form'd  into  a  Militia ;  and  have 
been  generally  computed  to  be  near  about  the  same 
Number  as  the  regular  Troops.  Thus  relying  wholly 
on  the  King's  Pay  for  their  Subsistence,  their  Thoughts 
never  turn'd  to  Trade  or  even  Agriculture,  but  depend- 
ing on  Foreign  Supplies  for  the  most  common  Necessa- 
ries of  Life,  they  spent  their  time  in  universal  perpetual 
Idleness.  From  such  a  State,  mischievous  Inclinations 
naturally  sprung  up  in  such  a  People  ;  and  having 
Leisure  and  Opportunity  ever  since  they  had  a  Neigh- 
bour, the  Fruits  of  whose  Industry  excited  their  Desires 
and  Envy,  they  have  not  failed  to  carry  those  Inclina- 
tions into  Action  as  often  as  they  coidd,  without  the  least 
reg-ard  to  Peace  or  War  subsisting-  between  the  two 
Crowns  of  Great-Britain  and  Spain,  or  to  Stipulations 
agreed  on  between  the  two  Governments  :  And  though 
in  some  Cases  wherein  the  Persons  concerned  were  few. 


350  EXPEDITION  TO  ST.  AUGUSTINE. 

and  the  Circumstances  such  that  they  could  not  easily 
be  detected,  that  Government  hath  pretended  Ignorance, 
and  seemed  to  disallow  thereof,  yet  it  is  certain  that  at 
the  same  Time  it  hath  concealed  those  Persons,  and 
connived  at  their  Actions. 

In  April,  1670,  Peace  then  subsisting  between  the 
Crowns,  the  Ship  which  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  this 
Province  sent  over  with  the  first  Settlers  arriv'd  in 
Ashley-River,  and,  having  landed  them,  went  away  to 
Virginia  to  fetch  a  Supply  of  Provisions,  &c.  for  them ; 
the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine  hearing  thereof,  in  the 
mean  Time  sent  a  Party  in  a  Vessel  from  thence  imme- 
diately to  attack  them.  Accordingly  they  landed  at 
Stono  Inlet  on  their  Backs ;  but  those  Settlers  having  by 
that  Time  enforted  themselves,  and  the  Ship  returning 
timely  to  their  Relief,  they  made  the  best  of  their  Way 
Home  again. 

In  1686,  Peace  still  subsisting,  the  Lord  Cardross  who 
had  obtained  from  the  Lords  Proprietors  a  Grant  of  a 
large  Tract  of  Land  in  Granville  County,  having  just 
before  came  over  and  settled  at  Beaufort  on  Port-Royal 
with  a  Number  of  North-Britons,  the  Spaniards  coming 
in  Three  Galleys  from  Augustine  landed  upon  them, 
killed  and  whipped  a  great  many,  after  taken,  in  a  most 
cruel  and  barbarous  Manner ;  plundered  them  all,  and 
broke  up  that  Settlement.  The  same  Galleys  going 
from  thence  run  up  next  to  Bear-Bluff  on  North-Edisto- 
River,  where  those  Spaniards  again  landed,  burnt  the 
Houses,  plunder'd  the  Settlers,  and  took  Landgrave 
Morton's  Brother  Prisoner.  Their  further  Progress  was 
happily  prevented  by  a  Hurricane,  which  drove  two  of 
the  Galleys  up  so  high  on  the  Land  that  not  being  able 
to  g6t  one  of  them  off  again,  and  the  Country  being  by 
that  Time  sufficiently  Alarmed,  they  thought  proper  to 


EXPEDITION  TO  ST.  AUGUSTINE.  351 

make  a  Retreat ;  but  first  set  Fire  to  that  Galley  on 
board  which  Mr.  Morton  was  actually  then  in  Chains, 
and  most  inhumanly  burnt  in  her. 

In  1702,  before  Queen  Anne's  Declaration  of  War 
was  known  in  these  Parts,  the  Spaniards  formed  another 
Design  to  fall  upon  our  Settlements  by  Land,  at  the 
Head  of  Nine  Hundred  Apalatchee  Indians  from  thence. 
The  Creek  Indians,  in  Friendship  with  this  Province, 
coming-  at  a  Knowledge  of  it,  and  sensible  of  the  Dan- 
gers approaching,  acquainted  our  Traders,  then  in  the 
Nation  with  it,  when  this  Army  was  actually  on  their 
March  coming  down  that  Way.  The  Traders  having 
thereupon  encourag'd  the  Creeks  to  get  together  an 
Army  of  Five  Hundred  Men,  headed  the  same,  and  went 
out  to  meet  the  other.  Both  Armies  met  in  an  Evening 
on  the  Side  of  Flint-River,  a  Branch  of  the  Chatahooche. 
In  the  Morning,  just  before  Break  of  Day,  (when  Indians 
are  accustomed  to  make  their  Attacks)  the  Creeks  stir- 
ring up  their  Fires  drew  back  at  a  Little  Distance  leav- 
ing their  Blankets  by  the  Fires  in  the  very  same  Order 
as  they  had  slept.  Immediately  after  the  Spaniards  and 
Apalatchees  (as  was  expected)  coming  on  to  attack  them, 
fired  and  run  in  upon  the  Blankets.  Thereupon  the 
Creeks  rushing  forth  fell  on  them,  killed  and  took  the 
greatest  Part,  and  entirely  routed  them.  To  this  Stra- 
tagem was  owing  the  Defeat  of  the  then  intended  Design. 

In  the  latter  End  of  the  same  Year,  Queen  Anne's 
War  being  commenced,  Col.  Moore  then  Governor  of 
this  Province,  with  Reason  expected  a  Visit  from  the 
Spaniards,  and  it  having  been  suggested  to  him,  that  St. 
Augustine  might  be  easily  taken,  if  surprized,  he  judged 
it  best  to  give  them  the  first  Blow.  Accordingly  he  un- 
dertook an  Expedition  against  it  with  about  Five  Hun- 
dred Whites,  and  Five  Hundred  Indians.    He  himself 


352  EXPEDITION  TO  ST.  AUGUSTINE. 

with  Fow  Hund?'ed  of  the  Whites  proceeded  in  the  Ves- 
sels directly  to  the  Bar  of  St.  Augustine  Harbour,  whilst 
Col.  Daniel  landing  at  St.  Juan's  march'd  directly  from 
thence  with  the  other  Hundred  and  the  Indians,  and  en- 
tered the  Town  with  them  only,  the  same  Day  as  the 
Vessels  appeared  in  Sight.  This  little  Army  kept  the 
Castle  close  besieged  above  Three  Months ;  and  repelled 
several  Sallies  with  the  Loss  of  very  few  Men.  Yet 
having  no  Bomhs  with  them,  and  a  Spanish  Man  of  War 
coming  to  its  Relief  from  the  Havanna  with  a  consider- 
able Number  of  Men,  on  Board  Four  large  Transports, 
which  landed  on  Anastatia,  they  were  obliged  to  retreat: 
But  not  fvithout  First  Burning  the  Town. 

In  1704,  Col.  Moore  was  commissioned  as  Lieutenant 
General  by  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnso7i,  who  succeeded  him  in 
the  Government,  to  make  an  Expedition  against  the 
Spaniards  and  Indians  at  Apalatchee,  about  Eighty  Miles 
to  the  West  of  St.  Augustine,  on  the  same  Motives  that 
the  preceding  Expedition  had  been  undertaken.  He 
marched  up  thither  at  the  Head  of  Fifty  Volunteers  of 
this  Provi?ice,  and  One  Thousand  Indians.  The  first 
Fort  he  came  to  which  had  Fifty  Men  in  it,  he  took  by 
Storm,  after  a  smart  Resistance.  The  next  Day  the 
Captain  of  St.  Lewisses  Fort  with  Twenty  three  Spani- 
ards and  Four  Hundred  India7is  giving  him  Battle,  Col. 
Moore  took  him  and  Eight  of  his  Men  Prisoner.s,  and 
killed  Two  Hundred  of  the  Indians.  In  Two  Days  after 
the  King  of  Attachooka,  v/ho  was  in  a  strong  Fort  with 
One  Hundred  and  Thirty  Men,  sent  to  him  Presents  of 
Provisions,  &c,  and  made  his  Peace.  After  which  he 
marched  through  all  the  rest  of  their  Towns,  Five  of 
which  had  strong  Forts  and  Defences  against  small 
Armies,  but  all  submitted  Without  Conditions.  He 
brought  away  Three  Hundred  Indians,  being  the  whole 


EXPEDITION  TO  ST.  AUGUSTINE.  353 

of  Three  Towns,  and  the  Most  of  Four  more,  having 
totally  destroyed  the  whole  of  Two  Towns.  So  that  he 
left  but  One  Town,  which  compounded  with  him,  Part 
of  St.  Lewisses,  and  the  People  of  another  Town,  who 
run  away  all  together ;  but  he  burnt  their  Town,  Church 
and  Fort.  By  this  Conquest' of  Apalachee  the  Province 
was  freed  from  any  Danger  from  that  Part  during  the 
whole  War.  And  this  important  Service  was  effected 
without  putting  this  Government  to  the  least  Expense. 

In  1706,  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine  joined  the 
French  from  Mai'tinico,  in  making  up  a  Fleet  of  Ten 
Sail,  with  Eight  Hundred  Men,  Whites,  Mustees,  'and 
Negroes,  and  Two  Hundred  Indians,  to  invade  this  Pro- 
vince. The  Ship  on  Board  which  the  Chief  Command- 
er was,  being  separated  from  the  Fleet,  fell  into  Sewee 
Bay,  not  knowing  the  Place.  The  rest  coming  over 
Charles-Town  Bar,  anchored  just  within  on  a  Sunday, 
where  they  remained,  sending  Parties  ashore  on  James- 
Island  and  Wando-Neck,  plundering  and  burning  Houses, 
&c.  'till  Friday  following  Capt.  FenwicJce  going  from 
Charles- Town,  with  One  Hundred  Men,  landed  at  Hob- 
haw  in  Sight  of  Town,  upon  a  Party  of  One  Hundred 
and  Thirty  Men,  who  had  got  thither  and  set  a  Ship  on 
Fire.  He  attacked  them,  killed  and  wounded  about 
Thirty,  aud  took  Seventy  Prisoners.  The  next  Day  the 
Ship  which  had  lost  Company,  still  not  appearing,  the 
whole  Fleet  set  Sail  again. 

In  1715,  Peace  having  been  some  Time  concluded 
between  the  Crowns,  the  Yamasee  Indians  (who  before 
the  Settlement  of  this  Province  had  lived  in  Amity  with 
the  Government  at  St.  Augustine,  but  afterwards  remov- 
ed and  settled  on  a  Body  of  Land  opposite  to  Port-Roy- 
al Island)  living  contiguous  to,  and  in  the  most  intimate 
Manner  with  the  Settlers  in  those  Parts,  having  been  ill 

45 


354  EXPEDITION  TO  ST.  AUGUSTINE. 

used  by  some  of  the  Traders  amongst  them,  were  so  far 
disgusted,  that  they  broke  out  war  with  this  Province, 
by  massacring  on  the  Fifteenth  Day  of  A'pril  above 
Eighty  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Granville  County.  But  it 
was  manifest  that  they  were  prompted  to  severe  Resent- 
ment of  their  Usage,  whatever  it  was,  by  the  Spaniards 
at  St.  Augustine.  For  tho'  those  Yamasees  had,  during 
all  Queen  Anne^s  War,  been  the  greatest  Instruments 
in  distressing  and  harassing  them,  killing  and  bringing 
away  Numbers  of  them,  insomuch  that  not  a  Man  dared 
for  a  long  Time  to  go  out  of  Sight  of  the  Castle,  and 
destroying  even  the  Cattle ;  yet,  on  the  very  Day  this 
War  broke  out,  the  Yamasees  shewed  so  much  Confi- 
dence in  the  Spaniards  that  they  sent  av/ay  iheirWomen 
and  Children  in  their  own  Boats  by  water  to  Augustine. 
And  having  ravaged  the  Country,  killing  many  more  and 
doing  all  the  Mischief  they  could,  so  that  all  the  Southern 
Parts  were  broke  up,  to  ahout  the  Distance  of  Trventij 
Miles  from  Charles-Torvn,  they  themselves  soon  after 
retreated  to  St.  Augustine  also.  There  they  were  re- 
ceived protected  and  encouraged  to  make  frequent  In- 
cursions from  thence  into  the  Settlements  of  this  Pro- 
vince  ;  and  being  often-times  headed  by  Spaniards,  they 
cut  off  several  of  the  Settlers,  and  carried  off  their 
Slaves.  The  Slaves  themselves  at  length,  taking  Advan- 
tage of  those  Things,  deserted  of  their  own  Accord  to 
St.  Augustine,  and  upon  being  demanded  back  by  this 
Government  they  were  not  returned,  but  such  Ra;tes  paid 
for  those  that  could  not  be  concealed  as  that  Govern- 
ment was  pleased  to  set  upon  them.  The  Evil  encreas- 
ing,  altho'  Col.  Barnwell  who  was  sent  from  hence  to 
St.  Augustine,  immediately  after  the  Conclusion  of 
Queen  Anne's  Peace,  had  in  Behalf  of  this  Government 
then  entered  into  a  stipulation  with  that,  mutually  to  re- 


EXPEDITION  TO  ST.  AUGUSTINE.         '  355 

turn  any  Slaves  that  should  for  the  future  desert  either 
Government ;  Col  Hall  was  sent  to  St.  Augustine  in 
1725,  with  whom  that  Government  confirmed  the  said 
Stipulation.  Notwithstanding  which,  the  very  year  fol- 
lowing : 

In  1727,  Peace  between  the  Crowns  continuing,  fresh 
Depradations  were  committed  on  this  Province  from  Au- 
gusti?ie,  both  by  Land  and  Water ;  which  created  the 
Expense  of  Trvo  Expeditions  to  prevent  the  Progress  of 
them.  At  that  Time  this  Coast  being  infested  by  seve- 
ral Spanish  Vessels,  who  stiling  themselves  Guarda- 
Costas,  on  Pretence  of  Searching,  plundered  and  made 
Prizes  of  all  the  English  Vessels  they  met  with.  A 
Schoo?ier  fitted  out  from  Augustine,  on  the  like  Account, 
put  in  to  North  Edisto,  where  the  Men  made  a  Descent, 
and  carried  off  the  Slaves  of  David  Ferguson,  which  were 
never  return'd  nor  paid  for.  On  this  Occasion  Captain 
Mount] oy  was  fitted  out  by  this  Government,  who  cleared 
theCoastofthoseP2r«^e5,  and  retook  a  rich FzV^mz'aTZ  Ship. 
At  the  same  Time  a  Party  of  Yamasee  Indians,  headed 
by  Spaniards  from  St.  Augustine,  having  murdered  our 
Out- Scouts,  made  an  Incursion  into  our  Settlements, 
within  Ten  Miles  of  Ponpon,  where  they  cut  off  one  Mr. 
Micheau,  with  dLXiotherWhite-man  on  the  same  Plantation, 
and  carried  off  a  Third  Prisoner,  with  all  the  Slaves, 
Horses,  <^c.  But  being  briskly  pursued  by  the  Neigh- 
bours, who  had  Notice  of  it,  they  were  overtaken,routed, 
and  obliged  to  quit  their  Booty.  The  Government, 
judged  it  Necessary  to  chastise  (at  least)  those  Indians, 
commissioned  Col.  Palmer  for  that  Purpose  instantly  ; 
who  with  about  One  Hundred  Whites,  and  the  like 
Number  of  our  Indians,  landed  at  St.  Juan^s,  and  having 
left  a  sufficient  Number  to  take  Care  of  the  Craft, 
marched  undiscovered  to  the  Yamasee  Town,  within  a 


356  EXPEDITION  TO  ST.  AUGUSTINE. 

Mile  of  St.  Augustine.  He  attack'd  it  at  once,  killed  se- 
veral of  those  Indians,  took  several  Prisoners,  and  drove 
the  Rest  into  the  very  Gates  of  St.  Augustine  Castle ; 
where  they  were  sheltered.  Arid  having  Destroyed  their 
Town,  he  returned. 

In  the  beginning  of  1728,  a  Party  of  those  Yamasees 
having  landed  at  Daffushee,  surprized  one  of  our  Scout- 
Boats,  and  killed  every  Man  but  Capt.  Gilbert,  who  com- 
manded her.  One  of  the  Indians,  seizing  him  as  his 
Property,  saved  his  Life.  In  their  Return  back  to  St. 
Augustine  a  debate  arose  that  it  was  necessary  tokill  him, 
for  that  the  Governor  ivould  not  have  them  to  bring  any 
07ie  Alive.  But  Capt.  Gilbert,  pleading  with  the  Indian 
that  claim'd  him,  was  protected  by  him  ;  and  upon 
coming  to  St.  Augustine  was  after  some  Time  released 
by  the  Governor. 

In  the  latter  End  of  1737,  still  Peace  subsisting,  great 
Preparations  were  made  to  invade  openly  this  Province 
and  Georgia.  For  that  Purpose  a  great  Body  of  Men 
arrived  at  St.  Augustine,  in  Galleys  from  the  Havana ; 
which  put  this  Province  to  a  very  large  Expense  to  pro- 
vide against.  But  happily  they  were  countermanded 
just  as  they  were  ready  to  set  off. 

In  1738,  althd'  Peace  subsisted,  and  Governor  Johnson 
after  his  Arrival  here  had,  in  1733,  renewed  the  before 
mentioned  Stipulation,  another  Method  was  taken  by  the 
Spaniards  to  answer  their  Ends.  Hitherto  the  Govern- 
ment of  St.  Augustine  had  not  dared  to  acknowledge, 
much  less  to  justify,  the  little  Villainies  and  Violences 
offered  to  our  Properties  :  But  now  an  Edict  of  his 
Catholic  Majesty  himself,  bearing  Date  in  November 
1733,  was  pubhshed  by  Beat  of  Drum  round  the  Town 
of  St.  Augustine  (where  many  Negroes  belonging  to 
English  Vessels  that  carried  thither  Supplies  of  Provi- 


EXPEDITION  TO  ST.  AUGUSTINE.  357 

sions,  &c.,  had  the  Opportunity  of  hearing  it)  promising 
Liberty  and  Protection  to  all  Slaves  that  should  desert 
thither  from  any  of  the  English  Colonies,  but   more 
especially  from  this.     And,  lest  that  should  not  prove 
,sui!icient  of  itself,  secret  Measures  were  taken  to  make 
it  known  to  our  Slaves  in  general.     In  Consequence  of 
which  Numbers  of  Slaves  did,  from  Time  to  Time,  by 
Land  and  Water  desert  to  St.  Augustine;    And,  the 
better  to  facilitate  their  Escape,  carried  off  their  Master's 
Horses,  Boats,  <^c.  some  of  them  first  commiting  Murder ; 
and  were  accordingly  received  and  declared  free.     Our 
present  Lieutenant   Governor,  by  Deputies  sent  from 
hence  on  that  Occasion  to  Seignor  Don  Manuel  de  Mon- 
tiano,  the  present  Governor  of  St.  Augustine,  set  forth 
the  Manner  in  which  those  Slaves  had  escaped  :  and  re- 
demanded  them  pursuant  to  the  Stipulation  between  the 
Trvo  Governments,  and  to  the  Peace  subsisting  between 
the  Crowns.    Notwithstanding  which,  tho'  that  Governor 
acknowledged  those  Slaves  to  be  there,  yet  producing 
the  King  of  Spain^s  said  Edict  he  declared  that  he  could 
not  deliver  them  up,  without  a  positive  Order  for  that  pur- 
pose from  the  King,  and  that  he  should  continue  to  receive 
all  others  that  should  resort  thither,  it  having  heen  an  arti- 
cle of  Complaint  against  his  Predecessor,  that  he  had  not 
put  the  said  Edict  in  force  sooner.     The  Success  of  those 
Deputies  being  too  well  known  at  their ;  Return,  Con- 
spiracies were   form'd   and  Attempts   made   by   more 
Slaves  to  desert  to  St.  Augustine :     But  as  every  one 
was  by  that  Time  alarmed  with  Apprehensions  of  that 
Nature,  by  great  Vigilance,  they  were  prevented  from 
succeeding.     However, 

In  September  1739,  our  Slaves  made  an  Insurrection 
at  Stono,  in  the  Heart  of  our  Settlements  not  Tfve7ity 
Miles  from   Charles- Town ;  in  which  they  massacred 


358  EXPEDITION  TO  ST.  AUGUSTINE. 

Twenty-Three  Whites,  after  the  most  cruel  -and  barba- 
rous Manner  to  be  conceiv'd ;  and  having  got  Arms  and 
Ammunition  out  of  a  Store,  thev  bent  their  Course  to 
the  Southward,  burning  all  the  Houses  on  the  Road. 
But  they  marched  so  slow,  in  full  Confidence  of  their 
own  Strength  from  their  first  Success,  that  they  gave 
Time  to  a  Party  of  our  Militia  to  come  up  with  them. 
The  Number  was  in  a  Manner  equal  on  both  sides  ;  and 
an  Engagement  ensued,  such  as  maybe  supposed  in 
such  a  Case.  But  by  the  Blessing  of  God  the  Negroes 
were  defeated,  the  greatest  Part  being  killed  on  the 
Spot  or  taken ;  and  those  that  then  escaped  were  so 
closely  pursued,  and  hunted  Day  after  Day,  that  in  the 
End  all  but  Two  or  Three  were  killed  or  taken  and  ex- 
ecuted. That  the  Negroes  would  not  have  made  this  In- 
surrection had  they  not  depended  on  St  Augustine  for  a 
Place  of  Reception  afterwards,  was  very  certain ;  and 
that  the  Spaniards  had  a  Hand  in  prompting  them  to  this 
particular  Action,  there  was  but  little  room  to  doubt. 
For  in  July  preceding,  Don  Piedro,  Captain  of  the  Horse 
at  St.  Augustine,  came  to  Charles-Town  in  a  Launch, 
with  Twe7ity  or  Thirty  Men  (one  of  which  was  a  Negro 
that  spoke  English  very  well)  under  Pretence  of  deli- 
vering a  Letter  to  General  Oglethorpe,  altho'  he  could 
not  possibly  he  ignorant  that  the  General  resided  at 
Frederica,  not  Half  the  Distance  from  St.  Augustine. 
And  in  his  Return  he  was  seen,  at  Times,  to  put  into 
eveiy  one  of  our  Bilets  on  the  Coast.  And  in  the  very 
Mo7ith  in  which  the  above  Insurrection  was  made,  the 
General  acquainted  our  Lieutenant  Governor,  by  Letter, 
that  the  Magistrates  at  Savannah  in  Georgia  had  seized 
a  Spanaird,  whom  he  took  to  be  a  Priest,  and  that  they 
thought,  from  what  he  had  discovered,  that  he  was  em- 


EXPEDITION  TO  ST.  AUGUSTINE.  359 

ployed  by  the  Spanairds  to  procure  a  general  Insurrec- 
tion of  the  Negroes. 

On  this  Occasion  every  Breast  was  filled  with  Con- 
cern. Evil  brought  home  to  us,  within  our  very  Doors, 
awaken'd  the  Attention  of  the  most  Unthinking.  Every 
one  that  had  any  Relation,  any  Tie  of  Nature ;  every 
one  that  had  a  Life  to  lose^  were  in  the  most  sensible 
Manner  shocked  at  such  Danger  daily  hanging  over 
their  Heads.  With  Regret  we  bewailed  our  peculiar 
Case,  that  we  could  not  enjoy  the  Benefits  of  Peace  like 
the  rest  of  Mankind ;  and  that  our  own  Industry  should 
be  the  Means  of  taking  from  us  all  the  Sweets  of  Life, 
and  of  rendering  us  liable  to  the  Loss  of  our  Lives  and 
Fortunes.  With  Indignation  we  looked  at  St.  Augustine 
(like  another  Sallee !)  That  Den  of  Thieves  and  Ruf- 
fians !  Receptacle  of  Debtors,  Servants  and  Slaves ! 
Bane  of  Industry  and  Society !  And  revolved  in  our 
Minds  all  the  Injuries  this  Province  had  received  from 
thence,  ever  since  its  first  Settlement :  That  they  had, 
from  first  to  last,  in  Times  of  profoundest  Peace,  both 
publickly  and  privately,  by  Themselves,  Indians  and 
Negroes,  in  every  Shape  molested  us,  not  without  some 
Instances  of  uiicoramon  Cruelty.  And  what  aggravated 
the  same  was,  that  this  Government  (on  the  contrary)  had 
never  been  wanting  in  its  good  Ofiices  with  our  Indians 
in  their  Behalf:  And  even  during  Queen  ^/z/i'^  War  had 
exercised  so  much  Humanity  towards  them  that,  in  or- 
der to  prevent  those  Indians  from  scalping  them,  accord- 
ing to  their  Custom ;  when  they  should  take  any  of 
them  Prisoners,  a  Law  was  passed  to  give  them  Five 
Pounds  Proclamation  Money  for  every  one  they  should 
bring  in  alive  ;  and  accordingly  a  great  Number  of  the 
Spaniards,  by  that  Means,  were  brought  in  alive,  and  the 
Reward  paid  for  them. 

FINIS. 


THE 


FIRST     SET 


OF  THE 


FUNDAMENTAL   CONSTITUTIONS 


OF 


SOUTH    CAROLINA: 


AS  COMPILED  BY 


MR.     JOHN    LOCKE. 


46 


FUNDAMENTAL   CONSTITUTIONS,   &c. 

Our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King  having,  out  of  his 
royal  grace  and  bounty,  granted  unto  us  the  province  of 
Carolina,  with  all  the  royalties,  properties,  jurisdictions 
and  privileges  of  a  county  palatine,  as  large  and  ample 
as  the  county  palatine  of  Durham,  with  other  great  privi- 
leges ;  for  the  better  settlement  of  the  government  of  the 
said  place,  and  establishing  the  interest  of  the  Lords  Pro- 
prietors with  equality  and  without  confusion  ;  and  that  the 
government  of  this  province  may  be  made  most  agreeable 
to  the  monarchy  under  which  we  live,  and  of  which  this 
province  is  a  part ;  and  that  we  may  avoid  erecting  a  nume- 
rous democracy :  we  the  Lords  and  Proprietors  of  the  pro- 
vince aforesaid,  have  agreed  to  this  following  form  of  go- 
vernment, to  be  perpetually  established  amongst  us,  unto 
which  we  do  oblige  ourselves,  our  heirs  and  successors, 
in  the  most  binding  ways  that  can  be  devised. 

I.  The  eldest  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  shall  be  Pala- 
tine ;  and,  upon  the  decease  of  the  Palatine,  the  eldest 
of  the  seven  surviving  proprietors  shall  always  succeed 
him. 

II.  There  shall  be  seven  other  chief  offices  erected, 
viz.  the  admirals,  chamberlains,  chancellors,  constables, 
chief  justices,  high  stewards,  and  treasurers ;  which 
places  shall  be  enjoyed  by  none  but  the  Lords  Proprie- 
tors, to  be  assigned  at  first  by  lot ;  and  upon  the  vacan- 
cy of  any  of  the  seven  great  offices  by  death,  or  other- 


LAWS  OF  CAROLINA.  363 

wise,  the  eldest  proprietor  shall  have  his  choice  of  the 
said  place. 

III.  The  whole  province  shall  be  divided  into  conn- 
ties  ;  each  county  shall  consist  of  eight  signories,  eight 
baronies,  and  four  precincts  ;  each  precinct  shall  consist 
of  six  colonies. 

IV.  Each  signiory,  barony,  and  colony,  shall  consist 
of  twelve  thousand  acres  ;  the  eight  signiories  being  the 
share  of  the  eight  proprietors,  and  the  eight  baronies  of 
the  nobility :  both  which  shares,  being  each  of  them  one 
fifth  part  of  the  whole,  are  to  be  perpetually  annexed, 
the  one  to  the  proprietors,  the  other  to  the  hereditary 
nobility,  leaving  the  colonies,  being  three  fifths  amongst 
the  people  ;  that  so  in  setting  out,  and  planting  the 
lands,  the  balance  of  the  government  maybe  preserved. 

V.  At  any  time  before  the  year  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  one,  any  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  shall 
have  power  to  relinquish,  alienate,  and  dispose,  to  any 
other  person,  his  proprietorship,  and  all  the  signories, 
powers,  and  interest,  thereunto  belonging,  wholly  and 
entirely  together,  and  not  otherwise.  Bnt,  after  the  year 
one  thousand  seven  hundred,  those  who  are  then  Lords 
Proprietors  shall  nothave  powerto  alienate  or  make  over 
their  proprietorship,  with  the  signiories  and  privileges 
thereunto  belonging,  or  any  part  thereof,  to  any  person 
w^hatsoever,  otherwise  than  as  in  §  xviii ;  but  it  shall  all 
descend  unto  their  heirs  male ;  and,  for  want  of  heirs 
male,  it  shall  all  descend  on  that  Landgrave  or  Cassique 
of  Carolina,  who  is  descended  of  the  next  heirs  female 
of  the  Proprietor;  and,  for  want  of  such  heirs,  it  shall 
descend  on  the  next  heir  general ;  and,  for  want  of  such 
heirs,  the  remaining  seven  proprietors  shall,  upon  the 
vacancy,  chuse  a  Landgrave  to  succeed  the  deceased 
proprietor,  who  being  chosen  by  the  majority  of  the 


364  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 

seven  surviving  proprietors,  lie  and  his  heirs  snccessive- 
Ij  shall  be  proprietors,  as  fuUj  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses as  any  of  the  rest. 

VI.  That  the  number  of  eight  proprietors  may  be  con- 
stantly kept;  if,  upon  the  vacancy  of  any  proprietorship, 
the  seven  surviving  proprietors  shall  not  chuse  a  Land- 
grave .to  be  a  proprietor,  before  the  second  biennial  par- 
liament after  the  vacancy,  then  the  next  biennial  parlia- 
ment but  one  after  such  vacancy,  shall  have  power  to 
chuse  any  landgrave  to  be  a  proprietor. 

VII.  Whosoever,  after  the  year  one  thousand  seven 
hundred,  either  by  inheritance  or  choice,  shall  succeed 
any  proprietor  in  his  proprietorship,  and  signiories  there- 
unto belonging ;  shall  be  obliged  to  take  the  name  and 
arms  of  that  proprietor  whom  he  succeeds  ;  which  from 
thenceforth  shall  be  the  name  and  arms  cf  his  family 
and  their  posterity. 

VIII.  Whatsoever  Landgrave  or  Cassique  shall  come 
to  be  a  proprietor,  shall  take  the  signiores  annexed  to 
the  said  proprietorship  ;  but  his  former  dignity,  with  the 
baronies  annexed,  shall  devolve  into  the  hands  of  the 
Lords  Proprietors. 

IX.  There  shall  be  just  as  many  landgraves  as  there 
are  counties,  and  twice  as  many  cassiques,  and  no  more. 
These  shall  be  the  hereditary  nobility  of  the  province, 
and  by  right  of  their  dignity  be  members  of  parliament. 
Each  landgrave  shall  have  four  baronies,  and  each  cas- 
sique two  baronies,  hereditarily  and  unalterably  annex- 
ed to,  and  settled  upon,  the  said  dignity. 

X.  The  first  landgraves  and  cassiques  of  the  twelve 
first  counties  to  be  planted,  shall  be  nominated  thus ; 
that  is  to  say,  of  the  twelve  landgraves  the  Lords  Pro- 
prietors shall  each  of  them  separately  for  himself  nomi- 
nate and  chuse  one  ;  and  the  remaining  four  landgraves 


LAWS   OF  CAROLINA.  365 

of  the  first  twelve,  shall  be  nominated  and  chosen  by 
the  Palatine's  court.  In  like  manner  of  the  twentj-four 
first  cassiques,  each  proprietor  for  himself  shall  nominate 
and  chuse  two,  and  the  remaining  eight  shall  be  nomi- 
nated and  chosen  by  the  Palatine's  court ;  and  when  the 
twelve  first  counties  shall  be  planted,  the  Lords  Proprie- 
tors shall  again  in  the  same  manner  nominate  and  chnse 
twelve  more  landgraves,  and  twenty-fom^  cassiques,  for 
the  twelve  next  counties  to  be  planted ;  that  is  to  say, 
two  thirds  of  each  number  by  the  single  nomination  of 
each  proprietor  for  himself,  and  the  remaining  one  third 
by  the  joint  election  of  the  Palatine's  court,  and  so  pro- 
ceed in  the  same  manner  till  the  whole  province  of  Ca- 
rolina be  set  out  and  planted,  according  to  the  propor- 
tions in  these  Fundamental  Constitutions. 

XI.  Any  landgrave  or  cassique  at  any  time  before  the 
year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  one,  shall  have 
power  to  alienate,  sell,  or  make  over,  to  any  other  per- 
son, his  dignity,  with  the  baronies  thereunto  belonging, 
all  entirely  together.  But,  after  the  year  one  thousand 
seven  hundred,  no  landgrave  or  cassique  shall  have 
power  to  alienate,  sell,  or  make  over,  or  let,  the  heredi- 
tary baronies  of  his  dignity,  or  any  part  thereof,  other- 
wise than  as  in  §  xviii ;  but  they  shall  all  entirely,  with 
the  dignity  thereunto  belonging,  descend  unto  his  heirs 
male  :  and,  for  want  of  heirs  male,  all  entirely  and  un- 
divided, to  the  next  heir  general ;  and,  for  w^ant  of  such 
hens,  shall  devolve  into  the  hands  of  the  Lords  Proprie- 
tors. 

XII.  That  the  due  number  of  landgraves  and  cassiques 
may  be  always  kept  up  ;  if,  upon  the  devolution  of  any 
landgraveship  or  cassiqueship,  the  Palatine's  court  shall 
not  settle  the  devolved  dignity,  with  the  baronies  there- 
unto annexed,  before  the  second  biennial  parliament  after 


366  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 

such  devolution ;  the  next  biennial  parliament  but  one 
after  such  devolution  shall  have  power  to  make  any  one 
landgrave  or  cassique  in  the  room  of  him,  who,  dying 
without  heirs,  his  dignity  and  baronies  devolved. 

XIII.  No  one  person  shall  have  more  than  one  dig- 
nity, with  the  signiories  or  baronies  thereunto  belong- 
ing. But  whensoever  it  shall  happen  that  any  one, 
who  is  already  proprietor,  landgrave,  or  cassique, 
shall  have  any  of  these  dignities  descend  to  him  by 
inheritance  ;  it  shall  be  at  his  choice  to  keep  which 
of  the  dignities,  with  the  land  annexed,  he  shall  like 
best ;  but  shall  leave  the  other,  with  the  lands  annexed, 
to  be  enjoyed  by  him,  who,  not  being  his  hek  apparent 
and  certain  successor  to  his  present  dignity,  is  next  of 
blood. 

XIV.  Whosoever,  by  the  right  of  inheritance,  shall 
come  to  be  landgrave  or  cassique,  shall  take  the  name 
and  arms  of  his  predecessor  in  that  dignity,  to  be  from 
thenceforth  the  name  and  arms  of  his  family  and  their 
posterity. 

XV.  Since  the  dignity  of  proprietor,  landgrave,  or 
cassique,  cannot  be  divided,  and  the  signiories  or  baron- 
ies thereunto  annexed  must  for  ever  all  entirely  descend 
with,  and  accompany  that  dignity ;  whensoever,  for 
want  of  heirs  male,  it  shall  descend  on  the  issue  female, 
the  eldest  daughter  and  her  heirs  shalhbe  preferred,  and 
in  the  inheritance  of  those  dignities,  and  the  signiories 
or  baronies  annexed,  there  shall  be  no  co-heirs. 

XVI.  In  every  signiory,  barony  and  manor,  the  re- 
spective lord  shall  have  power,  in  his  own  name,  to  hold 
court-leet  there,  for  trying  of  all  causes  both  civil  and 
criminal ;  but  where  it  shall  concern  any  person  being 
no  inhabitant,  vassal,  or  leet-man  of  the  said  signiory, 
barony,  or  manor,  he,  upon  paying  dov^n  of  forty  shil- 


LAWS     OF  CAROLINA.  367 

lings  to  the  Lords  Proprietor's  rise,  sliall  have  an  appeal 
from  the  signiory  or  barony-court  to  the  county-court, 
and  from  the  manor-court  to  the  precinct-court. 

XVII.  Every  manor  shall  consist  of  not  less  than 
three  thousand  acres,  and  not  above  twelve  thousand 
acres,  in  one  entire  piece  and  colony ;  but  any  three 
thousand  acres  or  more,  in  one  piece,  and  the  posses- 
sion of  one  man,  shall  not  be  a  manor,  unless  it  be  con- 
stituted a  manor  by  the  grant  of  the  Palatine's  court. 

XVIII.  The  lords  of  signiories  and  baronies  shall 
have  power  only  of  granting  estates  not  exceeding  three 
lives,  or  thirty-one  years,  in  two  thirds  of  the  said  signi- 
ories, or  baronies,  and  the  remaining  third  shall  be 
always  demesne. 

XIX.  Any  lord  of  a  manor  may  alienate,  sell,  or  dis- 
pose, to  any  other  person  and  his  heirs  forever,  his  ma- 
nor, all  entirely  together,  Vv^ith  all  the  privileges  andleet- 
men  thereunto  belonging,  .so  far  forth  as  any  colony 
lands  ;  but  no  grant  of  any  part  thereof,  either  in  fee,  or 
for  any  longer  term  than  three  lives,  or  one  and  twenty 
years,  shall  be  good  against  the  next  heir. 

XX.  No  manor,  for  want  of  issue  male,  shall  be  di- 
vided amongst  co-heirs  ;  but  the  manor,  if  there  be  but 
one,  shall  all  entirely  descend  to  the  eldest  daughter 
and  her  heirs.  If  there  be  more  manors  than  one,  the 
eldest  daughter  first  shall  have  her  choice,  the  second 
next,  and  so  -on,  beginning  again  at  the  eldest,  till  all  the 
manors  be  taken  up  ;  that  so  the  privileges  which  belong 
to  manors  being  indivisible,  the  lands  of  the  manors,  to 
which  they  are  annexed,  may  be  kept  entire,  and  the 
manor  not  lose  those  privileges,  which,  upon  parcelling 
out  to  several  owners,  must  necessarily  cease. 

XXI.  Every  lord  of  a  manor,  M^ithi-n  his  manor,  shall 


368  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 

have  all  the  powers,  jurisdictions,  and  privileges,  which 
a  landgrave  or  cassique  hath  in  his  baronies. 

XXII.  In  every  sigDiory,  barony,  and  manor,  all  the 
leet-men  shall  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  respective 
lords  of  the  said  signiory,  barony,  or  manor,  without  ap- 
peal from  him.  Nor  shall  any  leet-man,  or  leet-w^oman, 
have  liberty  to  go  off  from  the  land  of  their  particular 
lord,  and  live  any  where  else,  without  licence  obtained 
from  their  said  lord,  under  hand  and  seal. 

XXIII.  All  the  children  of  leet-men  shall  be  leet- 
men,  and  so  to  all  generations. 

XXIV.  No  man  shall  be  capable  of  having  a  court- 
leet,  or  leet-men,  but  a  proprietor,  landgrave,  cassique, 
or  lord  of  a  manor. 

XXV.  Whoever  shall  voluntarily  enter  himself  a  leet- 
man,  in  the  registry  of  the  county  court,  shall  be  a  leet- 
man. 

XXVI.  Whoever  is  lord  of  leet-men,  shall,  upon  the 
marriage  of  a  leet-man  or  leet-woman  of  his,  give  them 
ten  acres  of  land  for  their  lives  ;  they  paying  to  him 
therefor  not  more  than  one  eighth  part  of  all  the  y  early 
produce  and  growth  of  the  said  ten  acres. 

XXVII.  No  landgrave  or  cassique  shall  be  tried  for 
any  Criminal  cause,  in  any  but  the  chief  justice's  court, 
and  that  by  a  jury  of  his  peers. 

XXVIII.  There  shall  be  eight  supreme  courts.  The 
first  called  the  Palatine's  court,  consisting  of  the  palatine 
and  the  other  seven  proprietors.  The  other  seven  courts 
of  the  other  seven  great  officers,  shall  consist  each  of 
them  of  a  proprietor,  and  six  counsellors  added  to  him. 
Under  each  of  these  latter  seven  courts,  shall  be  a  col- 
lege of  twelve  assistants.  The  twelve  assistants  of  the 
several  colleges  shall  be  chosen,  two  out  of  the  land- 
graves, cassiques,  or  eldest  sons  of  proprietors,  by  the 


LAWS  OF  CAROLINA.  369 

Palatine's  court ;  two  out  of  the  landgraves,  by  the  land- 
graves chamber ;  two  out  of  the  cassiques,  by  the  cas- 
siques  chamber ;  four  more  of  the  twelve  shall  be  chos- 
en by  the  common  chamber,  out  of  such  as  have  been, 
or  are,  members  of  parliament,  sheriffs,  or  justices  of 
the  county  court,  or  the  younger  sons  of  proprietors,  or 
eldest  sons  of  landgraves  or  cassiques ;  the  two  other 
shall  be  chosen  by  the  palatine's  court,  out  of  the  same 
sort  of  persons,  out  of  which  the  commons  chamber  is 
to  chuse. 

XXIX.  Out  of  these  colleges  shall  be  chosen  at  first, 
by  the  Palatine's  court,  six  counsellors,  to  be  joined 
with  each  proprietor  in  his  court;  of  which  six,  one 
shall  be  of  those  who  were  chosen  in  any  of  the  colleges 
by  the  Palatine's  court,  out  of  the  landgraves,  cassiques, 
or  eldest  sons  of  proprietors ;  one  out  of  those  who  were 
chosen  by  the  landgraves  chamber ;  and  one  out  of  those 
who  were  chosen  by  the  cassiques  chamber ;  two  out 
those  who  were  chosen  by  the  commons  chamber ;  and 
one  out  of  those  who  were  chosen  by  the  Palatine's 
court,  out  of  the  proprietors  younger  sons,  or  eldest 
sons  of  landgraves,  cassiques,  or  commons,  qualified  as 
aforesaid. 

XXX.  When  it  shall  happen  that  any  counsellor  dies, 
and  thereby  there  is  a  vacancy,  the  grand  council  shall 
have  power  to  remove  any  counsellor  that  is  willing  to 
be  removed  out  of  any  of  the  proprietors  courts  to  fill  up 
the  vacancy ;  provided  they  take  a  man  of  the  same  de- 
gree and  choice  the  other  was  of,  whose  vacant  place  is 
to  be  filled  up.  But  if  no  counsellor  consent  to  be  re- 
moved, or  upon  such  remove ;  the  last  remaining  va- 
cant place,  in  any  of  the  proprietor's  courts,  shall  be  fill- 
ed up  by  the  choice  of  the  grand  council,  who  shall  have 
power  to  remove  out  of  any  of  the  colleges,  any  assist- 

47 


370  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 

ant,  who  is  of  the  same  degree  and  choice  that  coun- 
sellor was  of,  into  whose  vacant  place  he  is  to  suc- 
ceed. The  grand  council  also  shall  have  power  to 
remove  any  assistant,  that  is  willing,  out  of  one  college 
into  another,  provided  he  be  of  the  same  degree  and 
choice.  But  the  last  remaining  vacant  place  in  any 
college,  shall  be  filled  up  by  the  same  choice,  and  out 
of  the  same  degree  of  persons  the  assistant  was  of,  who 
is  dead  or  removed.  No  place  shall  be  vacant  in  any 
proprietor's  court  above  six  months.  No  place  shall  be 
vacant  in  any  college  longer  than  the  next  session  of 
parliament. 

XXXI.  No  man,  being  a  member  of  the  grand  coun- 
cil, or  of  any  of  the  seven  colleges,  shall  be  turned  out 
but  for  misdemeanour,  of  which  the  grand  council  shall 
be  judge ;  and  the  vacancy  of  the  person  so  put  out 
shall  be  filled,  not  by  the  election  of  the  grand  council, 
but  by  those  who  first  chose  him,  and  out  of  the  same 
degree  he  was  of  who  is  expelled.  But  it  is  not  hereby 
to  be  understood,  that  the  grand  council  hath  any  power 
to  turn  out  any  one  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  or  their 
deputies,  the  Lords  Proprietors  having  in  themselves 
an  inherent  original  right. 

XXXIL  All  elections  in  the  parliament,  in  the  several 
chambers  of  the  parliament,  and  in  the  grand  council, 
shall  be  passed  by  balloting. 

XXXIIL  The  Palatine's  court  shall  consist  of  the 
Palatine  and  seven  proprietors,  wherein  nothing  shall 
be  acted  without  the  presence  and  consent  of  the  Pala- 
tine or  his  deputy,  and  three  others  of  the  proprietors 
or  their  deputies.  This  court  shall  have  power  to  call 
parliaments,  to  pardon  all  offences,  to  make  elections  of 
all  officers  in  the  proprietor's  dispose,  and  to  nominate 
and  appoint  Port  Towns ;  and  also  shall  have  power  by 


LAWS  OF  CAROLINA.  371 

their  order  to  the  treasurer  to  dispose  of  all  public  trea- 
sure, excepting  money  granted  by  the  parliament,  and 
by  them  directed  to  some  particular  public  use ;  and 
also  shall  have  a  negative  upon  all  acts,  orders,  votes 
and  judgments,  of  the  grand  council  and  the  parliament, 
except  only  as  in  §  vi.  and  xii ;  and  shall  have  all  the 
powers  granted  to  the  Lords  Proprietors,  by  their  patent 
from  Our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King,  except  in  such  things 
as  are  limited  by  these  Funda7nental  Constitutions. 

XXXIV.  The  Palatine  himself,  when  he  in  person 
shall  be  either  in  the  army  or  in  any  of  the  proprietors 
courts,  shall  then  have  the  power  of  general,  or  of  that 
proprietor,  in  whose  court  the  Palatine  then  presides, 
shall  during  his  presence  there  be  but  as  one  of  the 
council. 

XXXV.  The  chancellor's  court,  consisting  of  one  of 
the  proprietors,  and  his  six  counsellors,  who  shall  be 
called  vice-chancellors,  shair  have  the  custody  of  the 
seal  of  the  palatinate,  under  which  all  charters  of  lands, 
or  otherwise,  commissions  and  grants  of  the  Palatine's 
court,  shall  pass.  And  it  shall  not  be  lawful  to  put  the 
seal  of  the  Palatinate  to  any  writing,  which  is  not  sign- 
ed by  the  Palatine  or  his  deputy,  and  three  other  pro- 
prietors or  their  deputies.  To  this  court  also  belong  all 
state  matters,  dispatches,  and  treaties  with  the  neigh- 
bour Indians.  To  this  court  also  belong  all  invasions 
of  the  law,  of  liberty  of  conscience,  and  all  disturbances 
of  the  public  peace,  upon  pretence  of  religion,  as  also 
the  licence  of  printing.  The  twelve  assistants  belong- 
ing to  this  court  shall  be  called  recorders. 

XXXVI.  Whatever  passes  under  the  seal  "of  the 
palatinate,  shall  be  registered  in  that  proprietor's  court, 
to  which  the  matter  therein  contained  belongs. 

XXXVII.  The  chancellor  or  his  deputy  shall  be  al- 


372  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA, 

ways  speaker  in  parliament,  and  president  of  the  grand 
council,  and,  in  his  and  his  deputy's  absence,  one  of  his 
vice-chancellors. 

XXXVIII.  The  chief  justice's  court,  consisting  of  one 
of  the  proprietors  and  his  six  counsellors,  who  shall  be 
called  justices  of  the  bench,  shall  judge  all  appeals  in 
cases  both  civil  and  criminal,  except  all  such  cases  as 
shall  be  under  the  jurisdiction  and  cognizance  of  any 
other  of  the  proprietor's  courts,  which  shall  be  tried  in 
those  courts  respectively.  The  government  and  regula- 
tion of  the  registries  of  writings  and  contracts,  shall  be- 
long to  the  jurisdiction  of  this  court.  The  twelve  assist- 
ants of  this  court  shall  be  called  masters. 

XXXIX.  The  constable's  court,  consisting  of  one  of 
the  proprietors  and  his  six  counsellors,  who  shall  be 
called  marshals,  shall  order  and  determine  of  all  military 
affairs  by  land,  and  all  land-forces,  arms,  ammunition,  ar- 
tillery, garrisons,  forts,  &c.  and  whatever  belongs  unto 
war.  His  twelve  assistants  shall  be  called  lieutenant- 
generals. 

XL.  In  time  of  actual  war,  the  constable,  whilst  he 
is  in  the  army,  shall  be  general  of  the  army,  and  the  six 
counsellors,  or  such  of  them  as  the  Palatine's  court  shall 
for  that  time  or  service  appoint  shall  be  the  immediate 
great  officers  under  him,  and  the  lieutenant-generals 
next  to  them. 

XLI.  The  admiral's  court  consisting  of  one  of  the 
proprietors  and  his  six  counsellors,  called  consuls,  shall 
have  the  care  and  inspection  over  all  ports,  moles,  and 
navigable  rivers,  so  far  as  the  tide  flows,  and  also  all 
the  public  shipping  of  Carolina,  and  stores  thereunto 
belonging,  and  all  maritime  affairs.  This  court  also 
shall  have  the  power  of  the  court  of  Admiralty ;  and 
shall  have  power  to  constitute  judges  in  port-towns,  to 


LAWS  OP  CAROLINA.  373 

try  cases  belonging  to  law-merchant,  as  shall  be  most 
convenient  for  trade.  The  twelve  assistants,  belonging 
to  this  court,  shall  be  called  proconsuls. 

XLII.  In  time  of  actual  war,  the  admiral,  whilst 
he  is  at  sea,  shall  command  in  chief,  and  his  six 
counsellors,  or  such  of  them  as  the  Palatine's  court 
shall  for  that  time  and  service  appoint,  shall  be  the  im- 
mediate great  officers  under  him,  and  the  proconsuls 
next  to  them. 

XLIII.  The  treasurer's  court,  consisting  of  a  pro- 
prietor and  his  six  counsellors,  called  under-treasur- 
ers,  shall  take  care  of  all  matters  that  concern  the  pub- 
lic revenue  and  treasury.  The  twelve  assistants  shall 
be  called  auditors. 

XLIV.  The  high-steward's  court,  consisting  of  a  pro- 
prietor and  his  six  counsellors,  called  comptrollers,  shall 
have  the  care  of  all  foreign  and  domestic  trade,  manu- 
factures, public  buildings,  work-houses,  high-ways,  pas- 
sages by  water  above  the  flood  of  the  tide,  drains,  sew- 
ers, and  banks  against  inundations,  bridges,  posts,  car- 
riers, fairs,  markets,  corruption  or  infection  of  the  common 
air  or  water,  and  all  things  in  order  to  the  public  com- 
merce and  health ;  also  setting  out  and  surveyino-  of 
lands  ;    and  also  setting  out  and  appointing  places  for 
towns  to  be  built  on  in  the  precincts,  and  the  prescrib- 
ing and  determining  the  figure  and  bigness  of  the  said 
towns,  according  to  such  models  as  the  said  court  shall 
order;  contrary  or  differing  from  which  models  it  shall 
not  be  lawful  for  any  one  to  build  in  any  town.     This 
court  shall  have  power  also  to  make  any  public  build- 
ing, or  any  new  high-way,  or  enlarge  any  old  high- way, 
upon  any  man's  land  whatsoever;  as  also  make  cuts, 
channels,  banks,  locks,  and  bridges,  for  making  rivers 


374  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 

navigable,  or  for  draining  fens,  or  any  other  public  use. 
The  damage  the  owner  of  such  lands  (on  or  through 
which  any  such  public  things  shall  be  made)  shall  re- 
ceive thereby,  shall  be  valued,  and  satisfaction  made 
by  such  ways  as  the  grand  council  shall  appoint.  The 
twelve  assistants,  belonging  to  this  court,  shall  be  called 
surveyors. 

XLV.  The  chamberlain's  court,  consisting  of  a  pro- 
prietor and  his  six  counsellors,  called  vice-chamberlains, 
shall  have  the  care  of  all  ceremonies,  precedency,  her- 
aldry, reception  of  public  messengers,  pedigrees,  the 
registry  of  all  births,  burials,  and  marriages,  legitimation 
and  all  cases  concerning  matrimony,  or  arising  from  it ; 
and  shall  also  have  power  to  regulate  all  fashions, 
habits,  badges,  games  and  sports.  To  this  court  also 
it  shall  belong  to  convocate  the  grand  council.  The 
twelve  assistants,  belonging  to  this  court,  shall  be  called 
-provosts. 

XL VI.  All  causes  belonging  to,  or  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of,  any  of  the  proprietors  courts,  shall  in  them  re- 
spectively be  tried,  and  ultimately  determined,  without 
any  further  appeal. 

XL VII.  The  proprietors  courts  shall  have  a  power  to 
mitigate  all  fines,  and  suspend  all  executions  in  criminal 
causes,  either  before  or  after  sentence,  in  any  of  the 
other  inferior  courts  respectively. 

XL VIII.  In  all  debates,  hearings,  or  trials,  in  any  of 
the  proprietor's  courts,  the  twelve  assistants  belonging 
to  the  said  courts  respectively,  shall  have  liberty  to  be 
present,  but  shall  not  interpose,  unless  their  opinions  be 
required,  nor  have  any  vote  at  all ;  but  their  business 
shall  be,  by  the  direction  of  the  respective  courts,  to 
prepare  such  business  as  shall  be  committed  to  them ; 


LAWS  OF  CAROLINA.  375 

as  also  to  bear  such  offices,  and  dispatch  such  affairs, 
either  where  the  court  is  kept  or  elsewhere,  as  the  court 

shall  think  fit. 

XLIX.  In  all  the  proprietors  courts,  the  proprietor,  and 
any  three  of  his  counsellors,  shall  make  a  quorum ;  pro- 
vided always,  that,  for  the  better  dispatch  of  business,  it 
shall  be  in  the  power  of  the  Palatine's  court  to  direct 
what  sort  of  causes  shall  be  heard  and  determined  by 
a  quorum  of  any  three. 

L.  The  grand  council  shall  consist  of  the  Palatine 
and  seven  proprietors,  and  the  forty-two  counsellors  of 
the  several  proprietors  courts,  who  shall  have  power  to 
determine  any  controversies  that  may  arise  between 
any  of  the  proprietors  courts,  about  their  respective 
jurisdictions,  or  between  the  members  of  the  same 
court,  about  their  manner  and  methods  of  proceed- 
ing; to  make  peace  and  war,  leagues,  treaties,  &c. 
with  any  of  the  neighbour  Indians  ;  to  issue  out  their 
general  orders  to  the  constable's  and  admiral's  courts, 
for  the  raising,  disposing,  or  disbanding  the  forces,  by 
land  or  by  sea. 

LI.  The  grand  council  shall  prepare  all  matters  to  be 
proposed  in  parliament.  Nor  shall  any  matter  whatso- 
ever be  proposed  in  parliament,  but  what  hath  first  pass- 
ed the  grand  council;  which,  after  having  been  read 
three  several  days  in  the  parliament,  shall  by  majority 
of  votes  be  passed  or  rejected. 

LII.  The  grand  council  shall  always  be  judges  of  all 
causes  and  appeals  that  concern  the  Palatine,  or  any  of 
the  Lords  Proprietors,  or  any  counsellor  of  any  proprie- 
tor's court,  in  any  cause,  which  otherwise  should  have 
been  tried  in  the  court  in  which  the  said  counsellor  is 
judge  himself 

LIII.   The  grand  council,  by  their  warrants  to  the 


376  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 

the  parliament,  and  by  them  directed  to  any  particular 
public  use. 

LV.  The  quorum  of  the  grand  council  shall  be  thir- 
teen, whereof  a  proprietor  or  his  deputy  shall  be  always 
treasurer's  court,  shall  dispose  of  all  the  money  given  by 
one. 

LV.  The  grand  council  shall  meet  the  first  Tuesday 
in  every  month,  and  as  much  oftener  as  either  they  shall 
think  fit,  or  they  shall  be  convocatedby  the  chamberlain's 
court. 

LVI.  The  Palatine,  or  any  of  the  Lords  Proprietors, 
shall  have  power,  under  hand  and  seal,  to  be  register'd 
in  the  grand  council,  to  make  a  deputy,  who  shall  have 
the  same  power  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  he  who 
deputes  him ;  except  in  confirming  acts  of  parliament, 
as  in  §  Ixxvi,  and  except  also  in  nominating  and  chus- 
ing  landgraves  and  cassiques,  as  in  §  x.  All  such  de- 
putations shall  cease  and  determine  at  the  end  of  four 
years,  and  at  any  time  shall  be  revocable  at  the  plea- 
sure of  the  deputator. 

LVIL  No  deputy  of  any  proprietor  shall  have  any 
power  whilst  the  deputator  is  in  any  part  of  Caro- 
lina, except  the  proprietor,  whose  deputy  he  is,  be  a 
minor. 

LVIIL  During  the  minority  of  any  proprietor,  his 
p-uardian  shall  have  power  to  constitute  and  appoint  his 
deputy. 

LIX.  The  eldest  of  the  Lords  Proprietors,  who  shall 
be  personally  in  Carolina,  shall  of  course  be  the  Pala- 
tine's deputy,  and  if  no  proprietor  be  in  Carolina,  he 
shall  chuse  his  deputy  out  of  the  heirs  apparent  of  any 
of  the  proprietors,  if  any  such  be  there ;  and  if  there  be 
no  heir  apparent  of  any  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  above 
one  and  twenty  years  old  in  Carolina^  then  he  shall  chuse 


LAWS  OF  CAROLINA.  377 

for  deputy  any  one  of  the  landgraves  of  the  grand  coun- 
cil; and  till  he  have  by  deputation  under  hand  and  seal 
chosen  any  one  of  the  forementioned  heirs  apparent  or 
landgraves  to  be  his  deputy,  the  eldest  man  of  the  land- 
graves, and,  for  want  of  a  landgrave,  the  eldest  man  of 
the  cassiques,  who  shall  be  personally  in  Carolina,  shall 
of  course  be  his  deputy. 

LX.  Each  proprietor's  deputy  shall  be  always  one  of 
his  own  six  counsellors  respectively ;  and  in  case  any  of 
the  proprietors  hath  not,  in  his  absence  out  of  Carolina,  a 
deputy,  commissioned  under  his  hand  and  seal,  the  eldest 
nobleman  of  his  court  shall  of  course  be  his  deputy. 

LXI.  In  every  county  there  shall  be  a  court,  consist- 
ing of  a  sheriff,  and  four  justices  of  the  county,  for  every 
precinct  one.  The  sheriff  shall  be  an  inhabitant  of  the 
county,  and  have  at  least  five  hundred  acres  of  freehold 
within  the  said  county ;  and  the  justices  shall  be  inhabit- 
ants, and  have  each  of  them  five  hundred  acres  a-piece 
freehold  within  the  precinct  for  which  they  serve  re- 
spectively. These  five  shall  be  chosen  and  commis- 
sioned from  time  to  time  by  the  Palatine's  court. 

LXII.  For  any  personal  causes  exceeding  the  value 
of  two  hundred  pounds  sterling,  or  in  title  of  land,  or  in 
any  criminal  cause ;  either  party,  upon  paying  twenty 
pounds  sterling  to  the  Lords  Proprietors  use,  shall  have 
liberty  of  appeal  from  the  county-court  unto  the  respect- 
ive proprietor's  court. 

LXIII.  In  every  precinct  there  shall  be  a  court  con- 
sisting of  a  steward  and  four  justices  of  the  precinct,  be- 
ing inhabitants,  and  having  three  hundred  acres  of  free- 
hold within  the  said  precinct,  who  shall  judge  all  crimi- 
nal causes;  except  for  treason,  murder,  and  any  other 
offences  punishable  with  death,  and  except  all  criminal 
causes  of  the  nobility;  and  shall  judge  also  all  civil 

48 


378  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 

causes  whatsoever  ;  and  in  all  personal  actions  not  ex- 
ceeding fifty  pounds  sterling,  without  appeal ;  but  where 
the  cause  shall  exceed  that  value,  or  concern  a  title  of 
land,  and  in  all  criminal  causes ;  there  either  party,  up 
on  paying  five  pounds  sterling  to  the  Lords  Proprietor's 
use,  shall  have  liberty  of  appeal  to  the  county  court. 

LXIV.  No  cause  shall  be  twice  tried  in  any  one 
court,  upon  any  reason  or  pretence  whatsoever. 

LXV.  For  treason,  murder,  and  all  other  offences 
punishable  with  death,  there  shall  be  a  commission, 
twice  a  year  at  least,  granted  unto  one  or  more  members 
of  the  grand  council  or  colleges,  who  shall  come  as  itin- 
erant judges  to  the  several  counties,  and  with  the  sheriff 
and  four  justices  shall  hold  assizes  to  judge  all  such 
causes  :  but,  upon  paying  of  fifty  pounds  sterling  to  the 
Lords  Proprietors  use,  there  shall  be  liberty  of  appeal 
to  the  respective  proprietor's  court. 

LXVI.  The  grand  jury  at  the  several  assizes,  shall, 
upon  their  oaths,  and  under  their  hands  and  seals,  deliver 
in  to  the  itinerent  judges  a  presentment  of  such  grievan- 
ces, misdemeanors,  exigencies,  or  defects,  which  they 
think  necessary  for  the  public  good  of  the  county ;  which 
presentments  shall,  by  the  itinerent  judges,  at  the  end  of 
their  circuit,  be  delivered  in  to  the  grand  council  at  their 
next  sitting.  And  whatsoever  therein  concerns  the  ex- 
ecution of  laws  already  made ;  the  several  proprietors 
courts,  in  the  matters  belonging  to  each  of  them  respect- 
ively, shall  take  cognizance  of  it,  and  give  such  order 
about  it,  as  shall  be  effectual  for  the  due  execution  of 
the  laws.  But  whatever  concerns  the  making  of  any 
new  law,  shall  be  referred  to  the  several  respective 
courts  to  which  that  matter  belongs,  and  be  by  them 
prepared  and  brought  to  the  grand  council. 

LXVIL  For  terms,  there  shall  be  quarterly  such  a 


LAWS  OF  CAROLINA.  379 

certain  number  of  days,  not  exceeding  one  and  twenty 
at  one  time,  as  the  several  respective  courts  shall  ap- 
point. The  time  for  the  beginning  of  the  term,  in  the 
precinct  court,  shall  be  the  first  Monday  in  January, 
April,  July,  and  October ;  in  the  county  court,  the  first 
Monday  in  February,  May,  August,  and  November;  and 
in  the  proprietors  courts,  the  first  Monday  in  March, 
June,  September,  and  December. 

LXVIII.  In  the  precinct-court  no  man  shall  be  a  jury- 
man under  fifty  acres  of  freehold.  In  the  county-court, 
or  at  the  assizes,  no  man  shall  be  a  grand  jury-man  un- 
der three  hundred  acres  of  freehold :  and  no  man  shall 
be  a  petty  jury-man  under  two  hundred  acres  of  free- 
hold. In  the  proprietors  courts  no  man  shall  be  a  jury- 
man under  five  hundred  acres  of  freehold. 

LXIX.  Every  jury  shall  consist  of  twelve  men ;  and 
it  shall  not  be  necessary  they  should  all  agree,  but  the 
verdict  shall  be  according  to  the  consent  of  the  ma- 
jority. 

LXX.  It  shall  be  a  base  and  vile  thing  to  plead  for 
money  or  reward ;  nor  shall  any  one  (except  he  be  a 
near  kinsman,  not  farther  off  than  a  cousin-german  to 
the  party  concerned)  be  permitted  to  plead  another 
man's  cause,  till,  before  the  judge  in  open  court,  he 
hath  taken  an  oath,  that  he  doth  not  plead  for  money 
or  reward,  nor  hath  nor  will  receive,  nor  directly  nor 
indirectly  bargained  with  the  party,  whose  cause  he  is 
going  to  plead,  for  money  or  any  other  reward  for  plead- 
ing his  cause. ' 

LXXI.  There  shall  be  a  parliament,  consisting  of  the 
proprietors  or  their  deputies,  the  landgraves,  cassiques, 
and  one  freeholder  out  of  every  precinct,  to  be  chosen 
by  the  freeholders  of  the  said  precinct  respectively. 


380  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 

They  shall  sit  all  together  in  one  room,  and  have  every 
member  one  vote. 

LXXII.  No  man  shall  be  chosen  a  member  of  parlia- 
ment, who  hath  less  than  five  hundred  acres  of  freehold 
within  the  precinct  for  which  he  is  chosen ;  nor  shall 
any  have  a  vote  in  chusing  the  said  member  that  hath 
less  than  fifty  acres  of  freehold  within  the  said  pre- 
cinct. 

LXXIII.  A  new  parliament  shall  be  assembled  the 
first  Monday  of  the  month  of  November  every  second 
year,  and  shall  meet  and  sit  in  the  town  they  last  sat 
in,  without  any  summons,  unless  by  the  Palatine's  court 
they  be  summoned  to  meet  at  any  other  place.  And  if 
there  shall  be  any  occasion  of  a  parliament  in  these  in- 
tervals, it  shall  be  in  the  power  of  the  Palatine's  court 
to  assemble  them  in  forty  days  notice,  and  at  such  time 
as  the  said  court  shall  think  fit ;  and  the  Palatine's  court 
shall  have  power  to  dissolve  the  said  parliament  when 
they  shall  think  fit. 

LXXIV.  At  the  opening  of  every  parliament,  the  first 
thing  that  shall  be  done,  shall  be  the  reading  of  these 
Fu7idamental  Constitutions,  which  the  Palatine  and  pro- 
prietors, and  the  rest  of  the  members  then  present,  shall 
subscribe.  Nor  shall  any  person  whatsoever  sit  or 
vote  in  the  parliament,  till  he  hath  that  session  sub- 
scribed these  Fundamental  Constitutions,  in  a  book 
kept  for  that  purpose  by  the  clerk  of  the  parhament. 

LXXV.  In  order  to  the  due  election  of  members  for 
the  biennial  parhament,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the 
freeholders  of  the  respective  precincts  to  meet  the  first 
Tuesday  in  September  every  two  years,  in  the  same 
town  or  place  that  they  last  met  in,  to  chuse  parliament- 
men  :  and  there  chuse  those  members  that  are  to  sit  the 


liAWS  OF  CAROLINA.  381 

next  November  following,  unless  the  steward  of  the  pre- 
cinct shall,  by  sufficient  notice  thirty  days  before, 
appoint  some  other  place  for  their  meeting,  in  order  to 
the  election. 

JjXXVI.  No  act  or  order  of  parliament  shall  be  of  any 
force,  unless  it  be  ratified  in  open  parliament  during 
the  same  session,  by  the  Palatine  or  his  deputy,  and 
three  more  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  or  their  deputies  ; 
and  then  not  to  continue  longer  in  force  but  until  the 
next  biennial  parliament,  unless  in  the  mean  time  it  be 
ratified  under  the  hands  and  seals  of  the  Palatine  him- 
self, and  three  more  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  themselves, 
and  by  their  order  published  at  the  next  biennial  par- 
liament. 

LXXVIL  Any  proprietor  or  his  deputy  may  enter  his 
protestation  against  any  act  of  the  parliament,  before 
the  Palatine,  or  his  deputy's  consent  be  given  as  afore- 
said ;  if  he  shall  conceive  the  said  act  to  be  contrary  to 
this  establishment,  or  any  of  these  Fundamental  Con- 
stitutions of  the  government.  And  in  such  case,  after 
full  and  free  debate,  the  several  estates  shall  retire  into 
four  several  chambers ;  the  Palatine  and  proprietors  in- 
to one  ;  the  landgraves  into  another ;  and  those  chosen 
by  the  precincts  into  a  fourth  :  and  if  the  major  part  of 
any  of  the  four  estates  shall  vote  that  the  law  is  not 
agreeable  to  this  establishment,  and  these  Fundamental 
Constitutions  of  the  government,  then  it  shall  pass  no 
farther,  but  be  as  if  it  had  never  been  proposed. 

LXXVIII.  The  quorum  of  the  parliament  shall  be  one 
half  of  those  who  are  members,  and  capable  of  sit- 
ting in  the  house  that  present  session  of  parlia- 
ment. The  quorum  of  each  of  the  chambers  of  par- 
liament shall  be  one  half  of  the  members  of  that 
chamber. 


382  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 

LXXIX.  To  avoid  multipKeity  of  laws,  wliich  by 
degrees  always  change  the  right  foundations  of  the 
original  government,  all  acts  of  parhament  whatsoever, 
in  whatsoever  form  passed  or  enacted,  shall,  at  the 
end  of  an  hundred  years  after  their  enacting,  respec- 
tively cease  and  determine  of  themselves,  and  without 
any  repeal  become  null  and  void,  as  if  no  such  acts  or 
laws  had  ever  been  made. 

LXXX.  Since  multiplicity  of  comments,  as  well  as 
of  laws,  have  great  inconveniences,  and  serve  only 
to  obscure  and  perplex ;  all  manner  of  comments  and 
expositions  on  any  part  of  these  Fundamental  Con- 
stitutions, or  any  part  of  the  common  or  statute  law  of 
Carolina,  are  absolutely  prohibited. 

LXXXI.  There  shall  be  a  registry  in  every  precinct, 
wherein  shall  be  enrolled  all  deeds,  leases,  judgments, 
mortgages,  and  other  conveyances,  which  may  concern 
any  of  the  land  within  the  said  precinct ;  and  all  such 
conveyances  not  so  entered  or  registered  shall  not  be  of 
force  against  any  person  nor  party  to  the  said  contract 
or  conveyance. 

LXXXII.  No  man  shall  be  register  of  any  precinct, 
who  hath  not  at  least  three  hundred  acres  of  freehold 
within  the  said  precinct. 

LXXXIII.  The  freeholders  of  every  "precinct  shall 
nominate  three  men :  out  of  which  three  the  chief 
justice's  court  shall  chuse  and  commission  one  to  be 
register  of  the  said  precinct,  whilst  he  shall  well  behave 
himself 

LXXXIV.  There  shall  be  a  registry  in  every  sig- 
niory,  barony,  and  colony,  wherein  shall  be  record- 
ed all  the  births,  marriages  and  deaths,  that  shall 
happen  within  the  respective  signiories,  baronies,  and 
colonies. 


LAWS  OF  CAROLINA.  383 

LXXXV.  No  man  shall  be  register  of  a  colony, 
that  hath  not  above  fifty  acres  of  freehold  within  the 
said  colony. 

LXXXVL  The  time  of  every  one's  age,  that  is  born 
in  Carolina,  shall  be  reckoned  from  the  day  that  his 
birth  is  entered  in  the  registry  and  not  before, 

LXXXII.  No  marriage  shall  be  lawful,  whatever 
contract  and  ceremony  they  have  used  till  both  the 
parties  mutually  own  it  before  the  register  of  the  place 
where  they  were  married,  and  he  register  it,  with  the 
name  of  the  father  and  mother  of  each  party. 

LX XXVIII.  No  man  shall  administer  to  ^the  goods, 
or  have  right  to  them,  or  enter  upon  the  estate  of  any 
person  deceased,  till  his  death  be  registered  in  the  re- 
spective registry. 

LXXXIX.  He  that  doth  not  enter  in  the  respective 
registry,  the  birth  or  death  of  any  person  that  is  born 
or  dies  in  his  house  or  ground,  shall  pay  to  the  said 
register  one  shiling  per  week  for  each  such  neglect, 
reckoning  from  the  time  of  each  birth  or  death  respect- 
ively, to  the  time  of  registering  it,  • 

XC.  In  hke  manner  the  births,  marriages,  and 
deaths  of  the  Lords  Proprietors,  Landgraves,  and 
Cassiques,  shall  be  registered  in  the  chamberlain's 
court. 

XCI.  There  shall  be  in  every  colony  one  constable, 
to  be  chosen  annually  by  the  freeholders  of  the  colo- 
ny ;  his  estate  shall  be  above  a  hundred  acres  of 
freehold  within  the  said  colony,  and  such  subordi- 
nate officers  appointed  for  his  as  the  county-court 
shall  find  requisite,  and  shall  be  established  by  the 
said  county-court.  The  election  of  the  subordinate 
annual  officers  shall  be  also  in  the  freeholders  of  the 
colony. 


384  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 

XCII.  All  towns  incorporate  shall  be  governed  by  a 
mayor,  twelve  aldermen,  and  twenty-four  of  the  com- 
mon council.  The  said  common-council  shall  be 
chosen  by  present  householders  of  the  said  town:  the 
aldermen  shall  be  chosen  out  of  the  common-council ; 
and  the  mayor  out  of  the  aldermen  by  the  Palatine's 
court. 

XCIII.  It  being  of  great  consequence  to  the  planta- 
tion, that  Port-Towns  should  be  built  and  preserved ; 
therefore,  whosoever  shall  lade  or  unlade  any  commo- 
dity at  any  other  place  but  a  Port-Town,  shall  forfeit  to 
the  Lords  Proprietors  for  each  tun  so  laden  or  unladen, 
the  sum  of  ten  pounds  sterling ;  except  only  such  goods 
as  the  Palatine's  court  shall  license  to  be  laden  or  un- 
laden elsewhere. 

XCIV.  The  first  port-town  upon  every  river  shall  be 
in  a  colony,  and  be  a  port-town  for  ever. 

XCV.  No  man  shall  be  permitted  to  be  a  freeman  of 
Carolina,  or  to  have  any  estate  or  habitation  within  it, 
that  doth  not  acknowledge  a  GOD ;  and  that  God  is 
publicly  and  solemnly  to  be  worshipped. 

XCV  I.  [As  the  country  comes  to  be  sufficiently 
planted  and  distributed  into  fit  divisions,  it  shall  belong 
to  the  parliament  to  take  care  for  the  building  of 
churches,  and  the  public  maintenance  of  divines,  to  be 
employed  in  the  exercise  of  religion,  according  to  the 
church  of  England  ;  which  being  the  only  true  and  or- 
thodox, and  the  national  religion  of  all  the  king's  domi- 
nions, is  so  also  of  Carolina  ;  and  therefore  it  alone  shall 
be  allowed  to  receive  a  public  maintenance,  by  grant  of 
parliament.^] 

*  This  article  was  not  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Locke,  but  inserted  by  some 
of  the  chief  of  the  proprietors,  against  his  judgment ;  as  Mr.  Locke 
himself  informed  one  of  his  friends,  to  whom  he  presented  a,  copy  of 
these  Constitutions. 


^.AWS  OF  CAROLINA.  385 

XCVII.  But  since  the  natives  of  that  place  who  will 
be  concerned  in  our  plantation,  are  utterly  strangers  to 
Christianity,  whose  idolatry,  ignorance,  or  mistake,  gives 
us  no  right  to  expel,  or  use  them  ill ;  and  those  who  re- 
move from  other  parts  to  plant  there,  will  unavoidably 
be  of  different  opinions  concerning  matters  of  religion, 
the  liberty  whereof  they  will  expect  to  have  allowed 
them,  and  it  will  not  be  reasonable  for  us  on  this  account 
to  keep  them  out;  that  civil  peace  may  be  maintained 
amidst  the  diversity  of  opinions,  and  our  agreement  and 
compact  with  all  men  may  be  duly  and  faithfully  observ- 
ed; the  violation  whereof,  upon  what  pretence  soever, 
cannot  be  without  great  offence  to  almighty  God,  and 
great  scandal  to  the  true  I'eligion,  which  we  profess  ;  and 
also  that  Jews,  Heathens,  and  other  dissenters  from  the 
purity  of  Christian  religion,  may  not  be  feared  and  kept 
at  a  distance  from  it,  but,  by  having  an  opportunity  of 
acquainting  themselves  with  the  truth  and  reasonable- 
ness of  its  doctrines,  and  the  peaceableness  and  inoffen- 
siveness  of  its  professors,  may  by  good  usage  and  per- 
suasion, and  all  those  convincinof  methods  of  o-entleness 
and  meekness  suitable  to  the  rules  and  design  of  the  gos- 
pel,  be  won  over  to  embrace  and  unfeignedly  receive  the 
truth ;  therefore,  any  seven  or  more  persons  agreeing  in 
any  religion,  shall  constitute  a  church  or  profession,  to 
which  they  shall  give  some  n9.me,  to  distinguish  it  from 
others. 

XCVIII.  The  terms  of  admittance  and  communion 
with  any  church  or  profession,  shall  be  written  in  a  book, 
and  therein  be  subscribed,  by  all  the  members  of  the  said 
church  or  profession ;  which  book  shall  be  kept  by  the 
public  register  of  the  precinct  where  they  reside. 

XCIV.  The  time  of  every  one's  subscription  and  ad- 

,49 


386  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 

mittance  shall  be  dated  in  the  said  book  of  religious  re- 
cord. 

C.  In  the  terms  of  communion  of  every  church  or 
profession,  these  following  shall  be  three ;  without 
which  no  agreement  or  assembly  of  men,  under  pretence 
of  religion,  shall  be  accounted  a  church  or  profession 
within  these  rules : 

1.  "  That  there  is  a  GOD. 

2.  "  That  GOD  is  publicly  to  be  worshipped. 

3.  "  That  it  is  lawful  and  the  daty  of  every  man,  be- 
ing thereunto  called  by  those  that  govern,  to  bear  wit- 
ness to  truth;  and  that  every  church  or  profession  shall, 
in  their  terms  of  communion,  set  down  the  external  way 
whereby  they  witness  a  truth  as  in  the  presence  of 
GOD,  whether  it  be  by  laying  hands  on,  or  kissing  the 
Bible,  as  in  the  church  of  England,  or  by  holding  up  the 
hand,  or  any  other  sensible  way." 

CI.  No  person  above  seventeen  years  of  age  shall 
have  any  benefit  or  protection  of  the  law,  or  be  capable 
of  any  place  of  profit  or  honour,  who  is  not  a  member  of 
some  church  or  profession,  having  his  name  recorded  in 
some  one,  and  but  one  religious  record  at  once. 

CII.  No  person  of  any  other  church  or  profession 
shall  disturb  or  molest  any  religious  assembly. 

cm.  No  person  whatsoever  shall  speak  any  thing 
in  their  religious  assembly  irreverently  or  seditiously  of 
the  government,  or  governors,  or  state  matters. 

CIV.  Any  person  subscribing  the  terms  of  commu- 
nion in  the  record  of  the  said  church  or  profession,  be- 
fore the  precinct  register,  and  any  five  members  of  the 
said  church  or  profession,  shall  be  thereby  made  a  mem- 
ber of  the  said  church  or  profession. 

CV.  Any  person  striking  out  his  own  name  out  of 
any  rehgious  record,  or  his  name  being  struck  out  by 


LAWS    OF    CAROLINA.  387 

any  officer  thereunto  authorised  by  each  church  or  pro- 
fession respectively,  shall  cease  to  be  a  member  of  that 
church  or  profession. 

CVI.  No  man  shall  use  any  reproachful,  reviling,  or 
abusive  language,  against  the  religion  of  any  church  or 
profession  :  that  being  the  certain  way  of  disturbing  the 
peace,  and  of  hindering  the  conversion  of  any  to  the 
truth,  by  engaging  them  in  quarrels  and  animosi- 
ties, to  the  hatred  of  the  professors  and  that  pro- 
fession, which  otherwise  they  might  be  brought  to 
assent  to. 

CVII.  Since  charity  obliges  us  to  wish  well  to  the 
souls  of  all  men,  and  religion  ought  to  alter  nothing  in 
any  man's  civil  estate  or  right,  it  shall  be  lawful  for 
slaves,  as  well  as  others,  to  enter  themselves  and  be  of 
what  church  or  profession  any  of  them  shall  think  best, 
and  therefore  be  as  fully  members  as  any  freeman. 
But  yet  no  slave  shall  hereby  be  exempted  from  that 
civil  dominion  his  master  hath  over  him,  but  be  in 
all  other  things  in  the  same  state  and  condition  he  was 
in  before. 

CVIII.  Assemblies,  upon  what  pretence  soever  of 
religion,  not  observing  and  performing  the  abovesaid 
rules,  shall  not  be  esteemed  churches,  but  unlawful 
meetings,  and  be  punished  as  other  riots. 

CIX.  No  person  whatsoever  shall  disturb,  molest,  or 
persecute  another  for  his  speculative  opinions  in  religion, 
or  his  way  of  worship. 

ex.  Every  freeman  of  Carolina  shall  have  absolute 
power  and  authority  over  his  negro  slaves,  of  what 
opinion  or  religion  soever. 

CXI.  No  cause,  whether  civil  or  criminal,  of  any  free- 
man, shall  be  tried  in  any  court  of  judicature,  without  a 
jury  of  his  peers. 


388  LAWS   OF    CAROLINA. 

CXII.  No  person  v/hatsoever  shall  hold  or  claim  any 
land  in  Carolina  by  purchase  or  gift,  or  otherwise,  from 
the  natives,  or  any  other  whatsoever;  but  merely  from 
and  under  the  Lords  Proprietors  ;  upon  pain  of  forfeit- 
ure of  ail  his  estate,  moveable  or  immoveable,  and  per- 
petual banishment. 

CXIII.  Whosoever  shall  possess  any  freehold  in 
Carolina,  upon  what  grant  or  title  soever,  shall,  at  the 
farthest,  from  and  after,  the  year  one  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  eighty-nine,  pay  yearly  unto  the  Lords  Propri- 
etors for  each  acre  of  land,  English  measure,  as  much 
fine  silver  as  is  at  this  present  in  one  English  penny,  or 
the  value  thereof,  to  be  as  a  chief  rent  and  acknowledg- 
ment to  the  Lords  Proprietors,  their  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors for  ever.  And  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  Palatine's 
court,  by  their  officers  at  any  time,  to  take  a  new  sur- 
vey of  any  man's  land,  not  to  out  him  of  any  part  of  his 
possession,  but  that  by  such  a  survey  the  just  number  of 
acres  he  possesseth  may  be  known,  and  the  rent  there- 
upon due  may  be  paid  by  him. 

CXIV.  All  wrecks,  mines,  minerals,  quarries  of 
gems,  and  precious  stones,  with  pearl-fishing,  whale- 
fishing,  and  one  half  of  all  ambergrease,  by  whom- 
soever found,  shall  wholly  belong  to  the  Lords  Pro- 
prietors. 

CXV.  All  revenues  and  profits  belonging  to  the  Lords 
Proprietors  in  common  shall  be  divided  into  ten  parts, 
whereof  the  Palatine  shall  have  three,  and  each  propri- 
etor one  ;  but  if  the  Palatine  shall  govern  by  a  deputy, 
his  deputy  shall  have  one  of  those  three  tenths,  and  the 
Palatine  the  other  two  tenths. 

CXVL  All  inhabitants  and  freemen  of  Carolina  above 
seventeen  years  of  ag©,  a«d  imder  tiixty»  shall  be  bound 


LAWS    OF    CAROLINA.  389 

to  bear  arms,  and  serve  as  soldiers  whenever  the  grand 
council  shall  find  it  necessary. 

CXVII.  A  true  copy  of  these  Fundamental  Constitu- 
tions shall  be  kept  iu  a  great  book  by  the  register  of 
every  precinct,  to  be  subscribed  before  the  said  re- 
gister. Nor  shall  any  person,  of  what  condition  or 
degree  soever,  above  seventeen  years  old,  have  any 
estate  or  possession  in  Carolina,  or  protection  or  bene- 
fit of  the  law  there,  who  hath  not  before  a  precint 
register  subscribed  these  Fimdamental  Constitutions  in 
this  form : 

"  I  A.  B.  do  promise  to  bear  faith  and  true  allegiance 
to  our  sovereign  lord  king   Charles  the    Second, 
his  heirs  and  successors ;  and  will  be  true  and 
faithful   to  the   Palatine    and   Lords  Proprietors 
of  Carolina,  their  heirs  and  successors ;  and  with 
my  utmost  power  will  defend  them,  and  main- 
tain the  government  according  to  this  establishment 
in  these  Fundamental  Constitutions.^^ 
CXVIII.  Whatsoever   alien  shall,  in  this  form,  be- 
fore any  precinct  register,  subscribe  these  Fundamen- 
tal Constitutions,  shall  be  thereby  naturalized. 

CXIX.  In  the  same  ma,nner  shall  every  person,  at  his 
admittance  into  any  office,  subscribe  these  Fimdamental 
Constitutions. 

CXX.  These  Fundamental  Constitutions,  in  number  a 
hundred  and  twenty,  and  every  part  thereof,  shall  be 
and  remain  the  sacred  and  unalterable  form  and  rule  of 
government  of  Carolina  for  ever.  Witness  our  hands 
and  seals,  the  first  day  of  March,  1669. 


390  LAWS  OF  CAROLINA. 


RULES  OF   PRECEDENCY. 


I.  The  Lords  Proprietors ;  the  eldest  in  age  first,  and 
so  in  order. 

II.  The  eldest  sons  of  the  Lords  Proprietors ;  the  eld- 
est in  age  first,  and  so  in  order. 

III.  The  landgraves  of  the  grand  council ;  he  that 
hath  been  longest  of  the  grand  council  first,  and  so 
in  order. 

IV.  The  cassiques  of  the  grand  council;  he  that 
hath  been  longest  of  the  grand  council  first,  and  so 
in  order. 

V.  The  seven  commoners  of  the  grand  council  that 
have  been  longest  of  the  grand  council ;  he  that 
hath  been  longest  of  the  grand  council  first,  and  so  in 
order. 

VI.  The  younger  sons  of  proprietors  ;  the  eldest  first, 
and  so  in  order. 

VII.  The  landgraves ;  the  eldest  in  age  first,  and  so 
in  order.  -    - 

VIII.  The  seven  commoners,  v\^ho  next  to  those  be- 
fore-mentioned, have  been  longest  of  the  grand  council; 
he  that  hath  been  longest  of  the  grand  council  first,  and 
so  in  order. 

IX.  The  cassiques ;  the  eldest  in  age  first,  and  so  in 
order. 

X.  The  seven  remaining  commoners  of  the  grand 
council ;  he  that  hath  been  longest  of  the  grand  council 
first,  and  so  in  order. 

XI.  The  male  line  of  the  proprietors. 

The  rest  shall  be  determined  by  the  chamberlain's 
court. 


NOV  9 -1927 


THE 


HISTORY   OF   CAROLINA: 


BEING 


AN    ACCOUNT    OF    THAT    COLONY, 


ORIGINALLY    PUBLISHED 


IN  THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  IN  AMERICA. 


BY    J.    OLDxMIXON. 


LONDON,    1708. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF   CAROLINA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Containing  an  Account  of  the  Discovery  and  Settlement  of  this 
Province,  and  of  all  the  Wars,  Factions,  Disturbances,  and 
other  Events  there,  from  that  time  to  the  present. 

We  are  not  ignorant  of  the  pretences  of  the  concern'd 
in  this  Province,  who  affirm,  'twas  discover'd  by  Sebas- 
tian Caiot.  Mr.  Archdak,  one  of  the  Proprietors,  in  his 
printed  Description  of  Carolina,  says,  Henry  the  Vlllth 
about  the  year  1500.  famished  Sir  Sebastian  Cabot  with 
shipping,  (he  was  born  at  Bristol,  though  his  father  was 
a  Venetian,)  to  make  a  discovery;  and  he  fell  upon  the 
coast  of  Florida,  and  having  sail'd  along  the  continent 
a  considerable  way  North-East,  return'd.  But  this  does 
not  appear  in  any  authentick  historian ;  nor  that  Sir 
Sebastian  Cabot  ever  got  so  far  to  the  South. 

Carolina  is  the  Northern  part  of  the  vast  region  of 
America,  which  was  discovered  by  John  Ponce  de  Leon, 
in  the  year  1512.  He  made  land  about  30  degrees  from 
the  Equator,  near  the  river  of  San  Mattceo,  the  most 
Southerly  part  of  this  province.  He  sail'd  thither  from 
the  Island  of  Porto  Rico,  and  gave  the  country  the 
name  of  Florida,  for  that  the  face  of  it  has  the  resem- 
blance to  a  continual  spring.^ 

*  CastelL  of  America. 


OLDMIXO^n's  CAROLINA.  393 

The  Spaniards,  who  passionately  desir'd  to  secure  it 
to  themselves,  eight  years  afterwards  sent  Vasquez  de 
Ayllon  to  make  a  further  discovery  of  it,  as  belonging  to 
Charles  V.  in  whose  name  de  Leon  had  taken  possession 
of  it.  He  came  upon  the  North  Coast,  and  call'd  the 
North  North- West  River  by  the  name  of  Jordan.  He 
did  nothing  memorable,  except  this  infamous  action,  of 
inviting  many  of  the  natives  aboard  his  ships,  where 
when  he  had  got  them,  he  hoisted  sail,  and  carry'd  them 
into  miserable  bondage. 

In  the  year  1526.  Charles  V.  Emperor  of  Germany  and 
King  of  Spain,  sent  Pamphilio  Narvesi  to  Florida,  who 
stay'd  so  long  in  the  South- West  part  of  this  country, 
which  is  the  most  barren,  that,  says  my  author,  they  rvere 
fain  to  eat  one  another,  his  crew  having  spent  their  pro- 
visions. 

Ten  years  afterwards  Ferdinando  de  Soto  came  hither 
in  search  of  gold  and  silver  mines,  having  a  large  army 
of  900  foot,  and  500  horse.  Himself,  and  three  parts  of 
his  soldiers,  dy'd,  either  thro'  want,  or  by  sickness,  or 
the  Indians  ;  and  the  rest  were  led  back  by  Lewis  Mos- 
cos  to  Nerv  Spain,  tho'  not  without  great  difficulty,  for 
the  natives  setting  upon  them  several  times  in  their 
march,  kill'd  all  that  fell  into  their  hands. 

This  unfortunate  and  expensive  expedition  so  dis- 
courag'd  the  Spaniards,  that  for  several  years  they  made 
no  more  attempts  in  these  parts,  and  indeed  they  search'd 
no  further  than  that  part  of  the  Continent  which  lies 
opposite  to  the  Gulph  of  New  Spain,  and  not  within 
and  beyond  the  Streights  of  Bahama,  which  includes 
that  part  of  the  country  we  are  now  treating  of,  and 
which  is  the  most  fertile  and  rich,  abounding  in  several 
merchantable  commodities. 

The  French  perceiving  the  Spaniards  neglected  this 

50 


394  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

long  tract  of  land,  Admiral  Coligny,  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  IX.  procur'd  two  of  the  king's  ships  to  be  sent 
thither,  the  command  of  which  he  gave  to  Jean  Ribaut, 
■who  after  a  voyage  of  two  months,  arriv'd  at  the  river 
of  Dolphins,  between  that  of  San  Mattceo,  and  that  of 
May,  lying  about  the  30th  degree. 

The  next  river  to  that  of  May,  he  call'd  the  Seine. 
The  next  to  that,  the  Somme  ;  then  the  Loire  ;  then  the 
Charente,  and  the  Garonne.  At  the  mouth  of  Albemarle 
River,  then  call'd  the  Great  River  ;  the  port  being  safe 
and  commodious,  he  built  a  fort,  which  he  called  Charles 
Fort,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Port  Royal,  in  32  de- 
grees of  Latitude,  bordering  on  Virginia,  now  North 
Carolina,  w^here  the  first  settlement  w^as  made  by  any 
European  nation. 

The  civil  wars  raging  in  France,  Rihaufs  soldiers  mu- 
tiny'd  for  want  of  supplies.  The  natives,  't  is  true,  were 
very  kind  to  them,  out  of  hatred  to  the  Spaniards;  but 
they  could  not  furnish  them  with  many  necessaries 
which  they  wanted  ;  and  the  Admiral  was  so  engag'd  in 
politicks  at  home,  that  he  had  not  leisure  to  provide  for 
the  wants  of  his  colony.  So  Ribaut  having  made  some 
discoveries  in  the  North-East  part  of  Florida,  retum'd 
to  France,  and  in  his  return,  if  credit  may  be  given  to 
an  old  author,"^^  his  company  were  reduc'd  to  such  ex- 
tremity, that  they  kill'd  and  eat  one  of  their  own  men ; 
and  probably  would  have  done  so  by  others,  had  they 
not  accidentally  met  with  an  English  ship,  the  master  of 
which  furnish'd  them  with  some  provisions.  A  peace 
being  concluded  2  years  after  in  France,  between  the 
Papists  and  the  Protestants,  Coligny,  who  was  then  in 
favour  at  court,  procur'd  other  ships  to  be  sent  to  this 
country,  which  was  now  call'd  Carolina,  from  Fort 
*  Castell.  of  America. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  395 

Charles,  as  that  was  from  the  French  King.  The  com- 
mand of  those  ships,  and  the  men  aboard,  was  given  to 
Lewis  Laudoner,  who  was  ordered  to  carry  on  the 
settlement.  He  arriv'd  here  the  20th  of  June,  1564. 
with  3  ships,  and  was  kindly  receiv'd  by  the  Indians, 
but  could  find  no  gold  and  silver  mines,  tho'  he  spent 
much  labour  and  time  in  search  after  them.  His  provi- 
sions being  almost  all  gone,  and  the  natives  either  unable, 
or  unwilling  to  furnish  him  with  more,  Laudoner  resolv'd 
to  return  also  to  France ;  and  as  he  was  preparing  to 
depart,  Jeait  Rihaut  arriv'd  with  3  ships,  which  had  so 
good  an  effect  on  the  Indians,  that  they  seem'd  to  be  as 
welcome  to  them  as  to  the  French.  The  Kings  of  Homo- 
loa,  Seravatri,  Almaca,m,  Malica,  and  Castri,  waited  upon 
Rihaut,  to  congratulate  his  arrival,  and  promis'd  to  con- 
duct him  to  the  Apalatcean  Mountains,  which  part  Caro- 
lina from  Virginia. 

The  French  conceiv'd  great  hopes  of  this  settlement, 
but  all  vanish'd  on  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  who 
with  a  squadron  of  ships  and  land  forces,  drove  the 
French  out  of  their  forts,  kill'd  Rihaut,  and  600  men, 
after  having  given  them  conditions  of  life,  and  oblig'd 
Laudoner,  with  a  few  of  his  countrymen  who  remain'd 
alive,  to  return  to  France. 

The  French  Kinof  took  no  notice  of  this  act  of  violence 
committed  on  his  subjects,  because  they  were  Protes- 
tants ;  and  indeed  't  is  thought  Coligmj  intended  by  this 
settlement,  to  secure  a  retreat  for  himself,  and  his  bre- 
thren of  the  reform'd  religion,  in  case  they  were  con- 
quer'd  in  France.  Peter  Melanda  commanded  the  Span- 
iards, who  dislodg'd  the  French,  and  so  provok'd  the  In- 
dians by  his  cruelty  and  injustice,  that  they  were  very 
ready  to  revenge  themselves  when  opportunity  offer'd, 
as  it  did  not  long  after ;  for  Capt.  De  Gorgues,  a  French 


396  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

gentleman,  at  his  own  cost,  fitted  out  three  stout  ships, 
and  with  280  men  sail'd  to  Carolina,  where  he  took  the 
fort,  and  put  all  the  Spaniards  within  it  to  the  sword. 
They  had  built  two  other  forts,  which  he  easily  reduc'd, 
and  serv'd  the  garrisons  as  he  did  that  of  Fort  Charles. 
He  demolish'd  them,  and  was  assisted  by  the  Kings  of 
Homoloa  and  Seravatri. 

The  French  travelled  into  the  dominions  of  the  great 
King  of  Apalacha,"^  near  the  mountains,  where  they  con- 
verted many  Indians  to  Christianity.  These  Indians 
were  more  civil  than  those  to  the  Northward,  their  King's 
dominions  larger,  and  their  manners,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, resembled  the  Mexicans. 

We  do  not  find  that  Monsieur  de  Gorgues  made  any 
settlement  here  ;  or  that  the  Spaniards  attempted  to  re- 
cover the  country;  which  from  the  year  1567,  lay  deserted 
by  all  European  nations,  till  the  reign  of  King  Charles 
II.  of  England,  f  In  the  year  1622.  several  English  fami- 
lies flying  from  the  massacre  of  the  Indians  in  Virginia 
and  New  England,  were  driven  on  these  coasts,  and  set- 
tled in  the  province  of  Mallica,  near  the  head  of  the 
river  of  May,  where  they  acted  the  part  of  missionaries 
among  the  Mallicans  and  Apalachites.  The  King  of  the 
country  is  said  to  have  been  baptiz'd;  and  in  the  year 
1653.  Mr.  Brigstock,  an  Englishman,  went  to  Apalacha, 
where  he  was  honourably  entertain'd  by  his  country- 
men, who  were  there  before  him ;  and  from  his  relation 
of  the  country  ours  is  taken. 

It  will  not  be  unacceptable  to  the  curious,  to  see  a 
description  of  Carolina,  as  it  was  before  the  English 
settled  there,  which  -we  find  very  distinctly  in  a  Dis- 
course, printed  A.  D.  1644.     The  nearest  River  of  any 

*  Dav.  of  Kid.  p.  247.      f  Ibid. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  397 

note,  to  Virginia,  falling  into  the  Sea,  is  the  Jordan, 
which  lies  in  32  Degrees ;  from  whence,  about  20 
Leagues  downwards  to  the  South,  is  the  Promontory  of 
St.  Helen  near  Port-Royal,  which  the  French  chose  for 
the  best  and  surest  place  to  begin  their  Plantations.  "^ 
Between  the  River  Jordan  and  St.  Helens,  are  Orista- 
num,  Ostanum,  and  Cayagna ;  Oristanum  lying  6 
Leagues  from  St.  Helens;  Ostanum  4  Leagues  from 
Oristanum;  and  Cayagna  8  Leagues  from  Ostanum. 
From  St.  Helens  to  Dos  Baxos  Haven  is  5  Leagues. 
From  thence  to  the  Bay  de  Asapo,  3  Leagues  ;  thence  to 
Cafanusium  3,  to  Capula  5,  to  Saron  9,  to  S,  Alcany 
14,  and  to  S.  Peter  20  Leagues,  lying  in  31  Degrees  of 
Latitude.  The  next  place  is  San  Mattceo,  4  Leagues 
from  St.  Peter. 

'  T  will  be  difficult  for  an  inhabitant  of  the  present 
Carolina,  to  reconcile  all  these  names  to  the  modern, 
and  the  old  description  to  the  new;  wherefore  we 
shall  not  pretend  to  it,  at  least  but  occasionally,  and 
where  we  can  be  almost  sure  that  we  are  in  the 
right. 

This  country  having  been  abandoned  by  all  European 
Nations,  for  near  100  years,  it  seemed  reasonable  then, 
that  any  one  who  would  be  at  the  expence  of  settling 
upon  it,  and  cultivate  it,  should  possess  it;  and  the 
pretence  of  Sebastian  Cabot's  discovering  it,  gave  the 
Crown  of  England  a  title  to  it,  which  King  Charles 
II.  asserted  :  For  some  noblemen  and  gentlemen  beg- 
ging it  of  him,  he  made  a  grant  of  it,  by  a  pattent,  bear- 
ing date  the  24th  of  March,  1663,  to  Edward  Earl  of 
Clarendon,  then  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  England, 
George  Duke  of  Albemarle,  William  Lord  Craven,  John 

*"Castel].  p.  33 


398  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

Lord  Berkley,  Anthony  Lord  Ashley,  Sir  George  Carta- 
ret.  Sir  Wilham  Berkley,  and  Sir  John  Colliton :  "  Who," 
to  use  the  words  of  the  grand  Charter,  "being  excited 
with  a  laudable  and  pious  zeal,  for  the  propagation  of 
the  gospel,  begged  a  certain  country  in  the  parts  of 
America  not  yet  cultivated  and  planted,  and  only  inha- 
bited by  some  barbarous  people,  who  had  no  knowledge 
of  God,  &c.  wherefore  the  king  granted  them  all  that 
territory  in  his  dominions  in  America,  from  the  North 
end  of  the  Island  called  Lucke-Island,  which  lies  in  the 
Southern  Virginian  Sea,  and  within  36  Degrees  of  N. 
Latitude ;  and  to  the  West  as  far  as  the  South  Seas ; 
and  so  Southerly,  as  far  as  the  River  San  Mattaeo, 
which  borders  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  and  is  within  31 
Degrees  of  North  Latitude,  and  so  West  in  a  direct  line, 
as  far  as  the  South  Seas  aforesaid  :  "  With  all  Royal 
Fisheries,  Mines,  power  of  life  and  limb,  and  every 
thing  necessary  in  an  absolute  propriety,  paying  a  quit- 
rent  of  20  Marks  yearly. 

We  are  not  to  enter  into  the  merits  of  the  cause,  nor 
inquire  by  what  right  King  Charles  became  pos- 
sess'd  of  this  province,  and  Carolina  to  be  a  part  of 
his  Dominions  in  America ;  '  tis  enough  for  us,  that  he 
gave  the  Proprietaries  such  a  Charter,  and  that  they 
proceeded  towards  a  Settlement  by  virtue  of  it ;  which 
was  in  a  few  years  effected  Whatever  has  been  said 
of  the  French  and  Spaniards,  't  is  but  just,  that  if  one 
Nation  does  not  think  a  Country  worth  cultivating, 
and  deserts  it,  another,  who  has  a  better  opinion 
of  it,  may  enter  upon  it,  by  the  law  of  nature  and 
reason. 

The  Proprietaries,  after  they  had  got  their  Charter, 
gave  due  encouragement  for  persons  to  settle  in  this 
Province,   and  there  being  express  provision  made  in 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  399 

it  for  a  toleration,  and  indulgence  to  all  Christians 
in  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion,  great  numbers 
of  Protestants,  dissenters  from  the  Church  of  England, 
retired  thither. 

This  toleration  appears  so  firm  by  this  Charter,  that 
we  wonder  any  Palatine  could  presume  to  break 
in  upon  it.  The  King  granted  the  Proprietaries  full  and 
free  license,  liberty  and  authority,  by  such  legal  ways 
and  means,  as  they  shall  think  fit,  to  give  unto  such 
person  and  persons,  inhabiting,  and  being  within  the 
said  Province,  or  any  part  thereof,  who  really  in  their 
judgments,  and  for  conscience  sake,  cannot,  or  shall 
not  conform  to  the  Liturgy,  Form  and  Ceremonies 
of  the  Church  of  England,  and  take  and  subscribe 
the  Oaths,  and  Articles,  made  and  establish'd  in  that 
behalf,  or  any  of  them,  such  indulgences  and  dispensa- 
tions in  that  behalf,  for,  and  during  such  time  and  times, 
and  with  such  limitations  and  restrictions,  as  they, 
&c.  shall  think  fit. 

Let  us  now  see  what  the  Proprietaries  did,  pursuant 
to  the  power  the  King  had  invested  them  with,  to 
grant  liberty  of  conscience.  We  cannot  have  a  bet- 
ter authority  than  the  Case  of  the  Dissenters  in  Ca- 
rolina, published  lately  by  a  gentleman  of  this  Pro- 
vince. 

"  The  first  Proprietors  were  so  sensible  that  nothing 
could  people  that  Province,  and  enrich  it,  but  an  uni- 
versal and  absolute  toleration,  that  they  made  the  most 
express  and  ample  provision  for  such  a  toleration  that 
ever  was  made  in  any  Constitution  in  the  world,  as  may 
be  seen  in  the  96,  101,  102,  106  Articles  of  the  Funda- 
mental Constitutions:  Which  provide,  as  the  Lords 
Proprietors  word  it  in  those  Constitutions,  That  'since 
the  Natives  of  that  place,  who  will  be  concern'd  in  our 


400  OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA. 

Plantations,  are  utterl}^  strangers  to  Christianity,  whose 
idolatry,  ignorance,  or  mistake  give  us  no  right  to  ex- 
pel or  use  them  ill,  and  that  those  who  remove  from  other 
parts  to  plant  there,  will  unavoidably  be  of  different 
opinions  concerning  matters  of  religion,  the  liberty 
whereof  they  will  expect  to  have  allowed  them ;  and 
that  it  will  not  be  reasonable  for  us,  on  that  account,  to 
keep  them  out ;  therefore,  that  sure  peace  may  be  main- 
tain'd,  amidst  the  diversity  of  opinions,  and  our  agree- 
ment and  compact  with  all  men  may  be  duly  and  faith- 
fully observ'd,  the  violation  whereof,  upon  what  pretence 
soever,  cannot  be  without  great  offence  to  Almighty 
God,  and  great  scandal  to  the  true  religion  which  we  pro- 
fess :  And  also  that  Jews,  Heathens,  and  other  Dis- 
senters, from  the  purity  of  the  Christian  Religion,  may 
not  be  scar'd,  and  kept  at  a  distance  from  it,  but  by 
having  an  opportunity  of  acquainting  themselves  with 
the  truth  and  reasonableness  of  its  doctrines,  and  the 
peaceableness  and  inoffensiveness  of  its  professors,  may 
by  good  usage  andperswasion,  and  all  those  convincing 
methods  of  gentleness  and  meekness,  suitable  to  the 
rules  and  designs  of  the  Gospel,  be  won  over  to  embrace, 
and  unfeignedly  receive  the  Truth.'  Therefore  the  said 
Constitutious  provided  for  their  Lihertij,  hut  declared, 
"  That  no  person  above  seventeen  years  of  age,  shall 
have  any  benefit  or  protection  of  the  law,  which  is  not  a 
member  of  some  Church  or  Profession,  having  his  name 
recorded  in  some  one  religious  record.'  " 

Thus  did  these  Lords  Proprietors  take  care,  that  per- 
sons of  all  professions  in  religion  should  be  protected 
and  secur'd  in  the  free  exercise  of  them ;  and  the  reader 
thus  prepossess'd  with  the  laws  of  the  country,  on  which 
the  government  of  the  colony  is  intirely  founded,  will  be 
the  better  able  to  judge  of  the  principles  of  those  men, 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  401 

who,  in  the  sequel  of  this  history,  we  shall  find  endea- 
vouring to  over-turn  the  most  considerable  articles  of 
these  Fundamentals;  for  great  numbers  of  protestant 
dissenters  from  the  Church  of  England,  removing  with 
their  families  to  Carolina^  when  there  were  so  many  in- 
habitants, that  a  form  of  government  was  necessary,  the 
proprietaries  agreed  on  that  abovemention'd,  call'd,  the 
the  Fundamental  Constitutions,  consisting  of  120  arti- 
cles, sign'd  by  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  then  palatine  of 
the  province ;  the  Lord  Craven,  the  Lord  Ashley,  Sir 
John  Colleton,  the  Lord  Cornhury,  the  Lord  Berkeley,  Sir 
George  Cartaret,  the  1st  March  1699.  Which  constitu- 
tions, as  is  expressed  in  the  last  article,  shall  he  and  re- 
main the  sacred  and  unalterable  form  and  rule  of  govern- 
ment in  Carolina  for  ever. 

They  were  drawn  up  by  that  famous  politician  the 
Earl  of  Shaftshury,  one  of  the  proprietors,  and  the  only 
one  that  could  be  suspected  of  having  the  least  inclina- 
tion to  favour  the  dissenters.  The  first  article  of  these 
fundamentals,  is,  that  a  "  Palatine  shall  be  chosen  out  of 
one  of  the  Proprietaries,  who  shall  continue  during  life^ 
and  be  succeeded  by  the  eldest  of  the  other  proprie- 
taries." The  palatine  has  the  executive  power  in  most 
cases,  and  the  rest  of  the  proprietaries  have  their  places 
and  privileges.  Mr.  Archdale,  in  the  beforementioned 
treatise  says,  "  They  center'd  all  their  power  in  four  of 
them,  viz.  in  a  palatine  of  their  own  choosing,  and  three 
more,  who  were  authorised  to  execute  the  whole  powers 
of  the  charter.  This  is  call'd  the  palatine's  court ;  and 
their  deputies  in  Carolina  execute  it  as  they  are  direct- 
ed by  their  principals." 

By  the  fundamental  constitutions,  there  are  to  be 
three  hereditary  noblemen  in  every  county,  one  call'd  a 
landgrave,  audlwo  call'd  cassiques.     The  parliament 

51 


402  OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  • 

consists  of  the  proprietors,  or  their  deputies,  the  govern- 
our  and  commons ;    and  by  the  fundamentals  should 
have  25  landgraves,  and  50  cassiques  to  make  a  nobili- 
ty :  But  the  number  of  landgraves  and  cassiques  is  very 
small,  and  they  are  not  summon'd  to  make  an  upper- 
house,  on  that  account ;  so  the  Governour  and  the  Pro- 
prietors deputies  arrogate  that  title.  The  commoners  are 
chosen  by  the  freeholders  of  every  county,  as  the  com- 
mons in  England;  and  all  v^ere  at  first  to  sit  in  one  house, 
and  have  equal  votes.  This  Parliament  should  meet  once 
in  every  two  years,  and  oftener,  if  occasion  require. 
The  courts  of  justice  are  besides  those  of  the  Palatine's 
court,  the  Chief  Justice's  court,  the  High-Constable's 
court,  the  Chancellor's  court,  the  Treasurer's  court,  the 
Chamberlain's  court,  the  High-Steward's  court :  Besides 
which,  there  are  the  Great  Council  and  the  Hundred 
courts.     Mr.  Archdale,   on  this  head,  tells  us,    "  The 
Charter  generally,  as  in  other  charters,  agrees  on  royal 
privileges  and  powers,  but  especially  at  that  time  it  had 
an  over-plu-s  power  to  grant  liberty  of  conscience,  tho' 
at  home  was  a  hot  persecuting  time  ;  as  also  a  power 
to  create  a  Nobility,  yet  not  have  the  same  titles  as 
here  in  England:   And  therefore  they  are  there  by  pat- 
tent,  under  the  Great-Seal  of  the  province,  call'd  land- 
graves and  cassiques,  in  lieu  of  earls  and  lords,   and 
are  by   their  titles  to  sit  with  the  Lords   Proprietors 
deputies,  and  together  make  the  upper  house,  the  lower 
house  being  elected  by  the  people.     These  landgraves 
are  to  have  four  baronies  annex'd  to  their  dignities,  of 
6000  acres  each  barony ;  and  the  cassiques  two  baronies, 
of  3000  each,  and  not  to  be  divided  by  sale  of  any  part. 
Only  they  have  power  to  let  out  a  third  part  for  three 
lives,  to  raise  portions  for  younger  children."     Every 
county  has  a  sheriff  and  four  justices  of  the  peace. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  403 

Every  planter  pays  Id.  an  acre  quit-rent  to  the  Proprie- 
taries, unless  he  buys  it  oif.  All  the  inhabitants  and 
free-men,  from  16  to  60  years  old,  are  bound  to  bear 
arms,  when  eommanded  by  the  Great  Council 

The  Proprietaries  enter'd  into  a  joint-stock,  and  fitted 
out  ships  on  their  own  proper  charges,  to  transport  peo- 
ple and  cattle  thither,  which  expence  amounted  to 
12000/.  besides  as  much  or  more  disburs'd  by  single 
Proprietors  to  advance  the  Colony ;  and  all  their  rents 
and  incomes  have  since  the  beginning  been  laid  out  in 
publick  services. 

Many  Dissenters  of  good  estates  went  over,  and  many 
other  persons  in  hopes  to  mend  their  fortunes.  And  if 
they  could  tell  how  to  improve  the  opportunities  that 
were  put  into  their  hands  there,  they  had  seldom  any 
reason  to  repent  of  going  thither. 

Tho'  the  difficulties  and  dangers  they  met  with  at 
first  were  a  little  discouraging,  all  free  persons,  who 
came  over,  were  to  have  50  acres  of  land  for  themselves, 
50  more  for  each  man-servant,  and  50  more  for  each 
woman-servant  marriageable ;  and  not  marriageable, 
40  acres.  Each  servant  out  of  his  or  her  time  was  to 
have  50  acres,  paying  the  quit-rent  of  Id.  an  acre. 

The  proportion  of  land  was  much  greater  by  the  first 
instructions  which  the  Proprietaries  sent  their  Govern- 
ours,  but  they  afterwards  thought  fit  to  reduce  it  to  the 
present  allotment.  Some  gentlemen  who  did  not  care 
to  be  liable  to  the  yearly  quit-rent  of  Id.  an  acre,  bought 
their  lands  out-right. 

The  common  rate  of  purchasing  now,  is  201.  for  a  100 
acres,  and  105.  a  year  quit-rent.  The  Proprietors,  in 
all  their  leases,  never  forget  to  except  all  mines,  miner- 
als, and  quarries  of  gemms  and  precious  stones. 

Things  being  thus  established,  the  Lords  Proprietaries 


404  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

appointed  Col.  William  Sayle,  to  be  Governour  of  their 
province,  about  the  year  1670.  The  first  plantations 
that  came  to  any  perfection,  were  about  Albemarle  and 
Port-Royal  rivers.  But  Ashley  and  Cooper  rivers  drew 
people  that  way,  for  the  convenience  of  pasture  and  til- 
age,  for  which  reason  that  part  of  the  country  became 
most  inhabited. 

In  1671.  the  Proprietors  sent  Cap.  Halsted  with  a 
supply  of  provisions  and  stores  for  the  colony,  and  cre- 
ated James  Cartaret^  Sir  John  Yeomans,  and  John  Lock, 
Esq;  landgraves. 

The  constitutions  having  been  found  deficient  in  some 
cases,  temporary  laws  were  added,  and  the  form  of  go- 
vernment settled  thus. 

A  Governour  named  by  the  Palatine. 
A  Council^    7  Deputies  of  the  Proprietors, 
consisting  )>  7  Gentlemen  chosen  by  the  Parliament, 
of  J    7  of  the  eldest  Landgraves  and  Cassiques. 

An  Admiral.  High-Steward. 

A  Chamberlain.  High-Constable. 

Chancellor.  Register   of  births,   burials, 
Chief-Justice.  and  marriages. 

Secretary.  Register  of  writings. 

Surveyor.  Marshal  of  the  Amiralty. 
Treasurer. 

All  which  were  nominated  by  the  Proprietors  respect- 
ively. The  quorum  of  the  council  were  to  be  the  Go- 
vernour and  6  councillors,  of  whom  3  at  least  were  to  be 
Proprietors  deputies ;  and  because  there  were  not  in- 
habitants to  make  a  Parliament,  diccordmg  to  ih.e  funda- 
mental constitutions,  't  was  order'd  to  consist  of  the  go- 
vernour, the  deputies  of  Proprietors,  and  twenty  mem- 
bers chosen  by  the  freeholders  ;  of  whom  ten  were  to  be 


OLDMIXON'S  CAROLINA.  405 

elected  by  BerMey''s  county,  and  ten  by  Colliton  county ; 
which  number  was  encreas'd,  as  more  counties  were 
laid  out,  and  more  people  came  to  settle  in  the  province. 

The  temporary  laws  were  made  in  the  year  1671. 
At  which  time  William,  Earl  of  Craves?,  was  Palatine. 
On  which  office  he  enter'd  after  the  death  of  the  Duke 
of  Albemarle ;  who,  as  has  been  said,  was  Palatine, 
when  i\iG  fundamental  constitutions  were  sign'd,  but  dy'd 
soon  after.  In  the  same  year  Cap.  Halsted  was  order'd 
to  make  discoveries  up  Ashley  river,  and  a  model  of 
a  town  was  sent,  which  it  will  be  well,  if  the  peo- 
ple of  Carolina  are  able  to  build  100  years  hence; 
but  the  Proprietaries,  as  appears  by  their  constitutions 
and  instructions  to  their  Governours,  thought 't  was  al- 
most as  easy  to  build  towns,  as  to  draw  schemes. 

The  next  Governour  to  Col.  Sayle  was  Sir  John  Yeo- 
mans,  baronet ;  in  whose  time  many  of  the  before-men- 
tioned transactions  happen'd,  but  we  have  not  been  able 
to  distinguish  the  events  in  his  government  from  those 
in  Sayle^s. 

About  the  year  1680.  the  Proprietaries  made  Joseph 
West,  Esq ;  one  of  the  first  planters,  their  Governour. 
He  was  a  man  of  courage,  wisdom,  piety,  and  modera- 
tion :  And  such  an  one  was  necessary  in  his  time ;  for 
tho'  many  Dissenters  had  fled  from  the  rage  of  their  ene- 
mies in  England,  yet  there  were  not  wanting  men  of 
other  principles,  who  by  factions  disturb'd  the  peace  of 
the  infant  colony.  Mr.  ArchdaWs  word  will,  in  this 
case,  be  more  acceptable  to  the  reader :  "  The  most  des- 
perate fortunes  first  ventur'd  over  to  break  the  ice, 
which  being  generally  the  ill  livers  of  the  pretended 
churchmen,  tho'  the  Proprietaries  commissionated  one 
Col.  West  their  Governour,  a  moderate,  just,  pious,  and 
valiant  person ;  yet  having  a  council  of  the  loose  prin- 


406  OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA. 

cipled  men,  they  grew  very  unruly,  and  had  lilte  to  have 
ruin'd  the  colony,  by  abusing  the  Indians,  whom  in  pru- 
dence they  ought  to  have  oblig'd  in  the  highest  degree, 
and  so  brought  an  Indian  War  on  the  Country,  like  that 
in  the  first  planting  of  Virginia,  in  which  several  were 
cut  off;  but  the  Governour,  by  his  manly  prudence  at 
least  in  a  great  measure  extinguish'd  the  Flame,  which 
had  a  long  time  threatned  the  dissolution  of  the  Colo- 
ny." The  two  Factions  were  that  of  the  Proprietaries 
and  that  of  the  Planters,  like  Court  and  Country 
Party  in  England.  This  division  got  to  such  a  head, 
that  one  Mr.  John  Culpeper,  was  sent  prisoner  to 
England,  with  a  Charge  of  High-Treason  against  him, 
for  raising  a  Rebellion  in  Carolina  ;  for  which  he  was 
try'd  at  Westminster-Hall,  and  upon  hearing  the  mat- 
ter, it  appear'd  only  to  be  a  disorderly  quarrel  among 
the  Planters  and  Inhabitants  of  the  Province,  so  he  was 
acquitted. 

Col.  West  held  a  parliament  in  Charles  Town,  A.  D. 
1682.  In  which  several  Acts  were  pass'd  and  ratify'd 
by  him,  (Andrew  Percival,  Esq. ;  William  Owen, 
Esq.;  and  Maurice  Matthews,  Esq.;  Deputies  of  the 
Proprietaries);  as  "An  Act  for  Highways,  for  sup- 
pressing Drunkenness  and  profane  Swearing,  for  Ob- 
servation of  the  Lord's  Day,  and  for  settling  the  Militia." 

'T  was  in  this  Govemour's  Time,  that  the  Westoes, 
a  Nation  of  the  Indians,  were  troublesome  to  the  Co- 
lony, and  attempted  the  subversion  of  this  hopeful 
Settlement,  as  the  Act  of  Parhament  to  raise  Money 
for  repelling  them  words  it.  There  was  not  much 
Blood  shed,  or  Money  spilt;  for  4  or  500/.  paid 
the  Charge   of  the  War,  and  other  publick  Expences. 

The  Lords  Proprietaries  erected  a  Commission  for 
Maurice  Matthews,  Esq. ;  William  Fuller,  Esq. ;  Jona- 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  407 

than  Fitz,  Esq. ;  and  John  Boon,  Esq.;  to  decide  all 
causes  between  the  Enghsh  and  Indians.  And  Mr. 
West  is  charg'd  with  deahng  in  Indians :  For  which, 
and  opposing  the  Proprietaries  Party,  he  was  remov'd, 
in  the  Year  1683.  and  Joseph  Moreton,  Esq.  appointed 
Governour  in  his  stead. 

'T  was  about  this  time,  that  the  Persecution  rais'd  by 
the  Popish  Faction,  and  their  adherents,  in  England, 
against  the  Protestant  Dissenters,  was  at  the  height ; 
and  no  Part  of  this  Kingdom  sufFer'd  more  by  it  than 
Somersetshire.  The  Author  of  this  History  liv'd  at 
that  time  with  Mr.  Blake,  brother  to  the  famous 
General  of  that  name,  being  educated  by  his  Son- 
in-law,  who  taught  School  in  Bridgewater ;  and  re- 
members, tho'  then  very  young,  the  reasons  old  Mr. 
Blake  us'd  to  give  for  leaving  England :  One  of 
which  was.  That  the  miseries  they  endur'd,  mean- 
ing the  Dissenters  then,  were  nothing  to  what  he 
foresaw  would  attend  the  Reign  of  a  Popish  suc- 
cessor; wherefore  he  resolv'd  to  remove  to  Caroli- 
na :  And  he  had  so  great  an  Interest  among  Persons 
of  his  principles,  I  mean  Dissenters,  that  many  ho- 
nest substantial  Persons  engaged  to  go  over  with 
him. 

I  must  prevent  all  prejudice  to  what  I  have  said,  by 
declaring  that  this  book  is  written  by  one  who  is  not 
himself  a  Dissenter,  but  verily  believes,  the  true  Church 
of  England  is  the  most  orthodox,  and  the  most  pure 
Church  in  the  world.  And  by  the  true  Church  of  Eng- 
land, he  understands  all  those  who  live  up  to  the  doc- 
trine it  professes ;  who  by  their  piety,  charity,  and 
moderation,  are  ornaments  of  our  Holy  Religion,  and 
who  do  not  blindly  espouse  a  Name  out  of  Interest,  or 
from  the  impressions  of  education ;  who  pity,  and  not 


408  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

hate,  such,  as  dissent  from  them  ;  who  are  loyal  to  their 
Prince,  submissive  to  their  Superiours,  true  to  their 
Country,  and  charitable  to  all :  Of  such  a  temper  is 
every  true  Church-man ;  and  may  their  number  daily 
encrease,  till  we  are  all  of  one  mind,  and  one  Reli- 
gion, as  we  have  but  one  God,  and  one  Saviour. 

If  the  reader  will  pardon  this  digression,  he  shall 
have  no  more ;  and  so  much  't  was  necessary  to  say, 
that  he  may  not  think,  whatever  is  said  of  Mr.  Blake, 
or  his  brethren,  is  out  of  respect  to  his  profession, 
but  as  a  Christian  :  For  tho'  I  doubt  not  there  may 
be  many  good  Christians  of  the  same  principles,  I 
should  esteem  them  more,  if  they  would  be  con- 
vinc'd,  and  conform ;  that  the  Union,  so  often  recom- 
mended by  our  Gracious  and  Glorious  Queen  Anne, 
may  be  universal. 

I  say  the  more  of  Mr.  Blake,  because  his  family  is 
one  of  the  most  considerable  in  this  Province ;  where 
he  arriv'd  in  the  Year  1683.  with  several  other  Fami- 
lies, the  followers  of  his  fortune.  What  Estate  he 
sold  in  England,  he  sold  to  carry  the  effects  along  with 
him  ;  and  tho'  the  sum  was  not  many  Thousands,  if  it 
did  at  all  deserve  the  plural  Number ;  yet  't  was  all  that 
his  great  Brother  left  him,  tho'  for  several  Years  he 
commanded  the  British  Fleet ;  and  in  a  time  when  our 
Naval  Arms  were  victorious,  and  the  treasures  of  New- 
Spain  seldom  reached  home. 

By  Mr.  Blake's  presence  in  Carolina,  the  Sober  Par- 
ty, we  call  them  so  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Archdale's 
111  Livers,  began  to  take  Heart,  and  the  other  to  be  dis- 
courag'd  in  their  irregular  courses.  The  Gentleman  I 
just  mention'd,  in  his  Description  of  Carolina,  writes 
thus  :  "In  Governour  Moreton's  time,  General  Blake's 
Brother,   with   many   Dissenters,    came   to   Carolina; 


OLDMIXON  S  CAROLINA.  409 

which  Blake  being  a  wise  and  prudent  person,  of  an  he- 
roick  temper  of  spirit,  strengthened  the  hands  of  sober 
inclin'd  people,  and  kept  under  the  first  loose  and  extra- 
vagant spirit,"  &c.  The  Governour,  as  we  are  told, 
marry'd  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Blake,  his  daughter;  and  by 
this  alliance,  the  strength  of  their  party  was  so  encreas- 
ed,  that  we  hear  little  of  the  other  till  Mr.  CoUiton's 
government. 

There  being  some  complaints  against  Mr.  Matthews, 
and  the  other  Commissioners  for  deciding  causes  be- 
tween  the  English  and  the  Indians,  they  v/ere  discharg'd 
and  the  commission  abrogated.  The  Lords  Proprieta- 
ries order'd  the  Indians  400  miles  from  Charles  Town, 
to  be  taken  into  their  protection. 

The  county  of  Berkeley,  between  Stono  and  Servee, 
was  now  laid  out ;  and  soon  after  Craven  county,  on  the 
north  of  Berkeley ;  and  CoUiton  county,  on  the  south : 
All  which  counties  were  divided  into  squares  of  12000 
acres,  for  the  several  shares  of  the  Proprietaries,  land- 
graves and  cassiques. 

Mr.  Moreton,  at  his  entering  upon  his  office,  call'd  a 
Parliament,  which  met  in  form,  and  pass'd  several  acts ; 
as,  "  For  raising  500^.  for  defraying  the  publick  charge  of 
the  province ;  for  regulating  the  Surveyor  General's 
fees ;  for  raising  the  value  of  foreign  coin  ;  for  trial  of 
small  and  mean  causes  under  40^. ;  for  damages  of  pro- 
tested bills  of  exchage  ;  for  ascertaining  publick  officers 
fees ;  to  suspend  prosecution  for  foreign  debts ;  to  inhi- 
bit the  trading  with  servants  or  slaves  ;  for  laying  out, 
and  making  good  high-ways  ;  for  preventing  the  taking 
away  boats  and  canoos  ;  for  marking  of  all  sorts  of  cattle ; 
to  prevent  unlicens'd  taverns  and  punch-houses,  and  as- 
certaining the  rates  and  prices  of  wine,  and  other  liquors ; 
to  prevent  runaways."     All  which  acts  were  sign'd  by 

52 


410  OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA. 

Joseph Moreton,  Esq;  Governour,  John  Godfrey,  Esq; 
John  Boon,  Esq;  James  Moor,  Esq;  Maurice  Mat- 
thews, Esq;  Andrew  Percival,  Esq;  Arthur  Middleton, 
Esq;  counsellors  and  deputies;  and  Mr.  Joseph  Oldys, 
clerk  to  the  parliament.  At  this  time,  Robert  Gibs, 
Esq;  was  treasurer  of  the  colony;  John  Moor,  Esq; 
secretrary ;  John  Boon,  Esq;  Robert  Daniel,  Esq ;  Mr. 
Bernard  Schinkingh,  Mr.  Peter  Hearn,  and  Cap.  Flo- 
rence O'Sullivan,  were  appointed  commissioners  for 
stating-  and  passing  the  publick  accounts.  ]\Iaurice 
Matthews,  Esq;  was  also  Surveyor-General.  The 
trade  of  dealing  in  Indians  continu'd,  and  several  of  the 
Proprietors  deputies  were  concern'd  in  it :  Whether  the 
Governour,  Mr.  Moreton,  favour'd  it  or  not,  we  cannot 
undertake  to  determine.  'T  is  certain,  he  did  not  long 
enjoy  his  office ;  For  it  appears  by  the  copies  of  the 
original  instructions  sent  by  the  Proprietaries  to  his  suc- 
cessor, that  in  the  following  year  the  Palatine  made  Sir 
Richard  Kyrle  Governour.  He  was  a  gentleman  of 
Ireland;  and  dying  within  the  year,  Joseph  West,  Esq; 
was  again  chosen  Governour  by  the  council ;  and  being 
a  man  of  great  interest,  the  Proprietaries  thought  fit  to 
confirm  him  in  his  government :  But  they  turn'd  out 
Maurice  Matthews,  Esq;  James  Moor,  Esq;  and  Ar- 
thur Middleton,  Esq;  from  being  deputies  and  council- 
lors, for  disobeying  their  orders,  and  sending  away  In- 
dians. They  also  displac'd  their  secretary  John  Moor, 
Esq;  and  put  Rob.  Quarry,  Esq;  in  his  place. 

Thus  we  see  the  latter  has  enjoy 'd  honourable  offices 
many  years  in  the  American  colonies  ;  with  the  interest 
of  which  he  must,  by  this  means,  be  very  well  ac- 
quainted. 

In  Mr.  West's  second  govermnent,  the  Right  Honour- 
able the  Lord  Cardrosse  remov'd  to  Carolina,  and,  with 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  411 

ten  Scots  families,  settled  at  Port-Royal,  esteem'd  the 
most  convenient  place  in  this  province  for  commerce,  as 
being  the  best  port.  The  Lord  Cardrosse  having  been 
disgusted  with  the  government  of  the  province,  for  some 
ill  usage  he  met  with,  return'd  to  Scotland,  and  the 
Spaniards  dislodg'd  the  Scots  who  had  seated  them- 
selves on  that  fine  river.  This  Lord  was  of  the  house 
of  Buchan,  and  in  King  William's  reign  enjoy'd  the  title 
of  Earl  of  Buchan. 

Dissenters  continuing  to  come  hither  from  all  parts  of 
England,  the  colony  thriv'd  and  encreas'd  in  numbers 
and  riches. 

James  CoUiton,  Esq;  of  Barhadoes,  brother  to  Sir 
Peter  CoUiton,  baronet,  a  Proprietary,  being  honour'd 
with  the  title  of  landgrave,  left  the  island  he  liv'd  in,  and 
transported  himself  and  family  to  Carolina,  where  he 
seated  himself  at  old  Charles  Town,  on  Cooper  river, 
built  a  handsome  house  there  ;  and  being  made  Govern- 
our,  his  seat  is  to  tbis  day  call'd  the  Governour's  house. 
Had  this  gentleman  had  as  much  honour  and  capacity 
as  his  brother  Sir  Peter,  we  should  have  had  no  occa- 
sion to  excuse  our  selves  for  keeping  to  the  truth  of  his- 
tory in  his  behalf  One  of  his  successors  writes  in  this 
manner  of  his  government :  "  The  party  Governour 
Moreton  had  gone  a  great  way  in  suppressing,  grew 
now  so  strong  among  the  common  people,  that  they  chose 
members  to  oppose  whatsoever  the  Governour  request- 
ed ;  insomuch  that  thej''  would  not  settle  the  militia  act, 
tho'  their  own  security  depended  on  it,  and  that  it  would 
be  grounds  of  their  further  strength."  The  reason  of 
the  discontent  the  people  lay  under,  were  disputes  about 
the  tenure  of  their  lands,  and  payment  of  their  quit-rents, 
which  were  not  settled  till  Mr.  Archdale's  government. 

Mr.  Colliton  call'd  a  Parliament.     A.  D.  1687.     This 


412  OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA. 

assembly  not  liking  the  VropvieidiYies  fundamental  consti- 
tutions ;  and  thinking  they  could  supply  the  deficiencies 
in  them,  appointed  a  committee  to  examine  them :  And 
these  gentlemen  drew  up  a  new  form  of  government, 
differing  in  many  articles  from  the  former;  to  which 
they  gave  the  title  of  standing  laws,  and  temporary 
laws.  This  committee  v/ere  James  Colliton,  Esq;  Go- 
vernour,  Paul  Grimball,  Esq;  and  William  Dunlap,  Esq; 
deputies ;  Bernard  Schinking,  Thomas  Smith,  John 
Farr,  and  Joseph  Blake,  Esqs;  commoners.  But 
neither  the  Lords  Proprietaries,  nor  the  people  of  Caro- 
Ima  accepted  of  them  ;  and  thus  the  fundamental  consti- 
tution's, keep  their  ground  to  this  day. 

Mr.  Colliton  gave  such  discontent  in  his  administra- 
tion, that  he  was  banish'd  the  province  ;  a  fate  few  Go- 
vernours  of  colonies  were  ever  so  unhappy  as  to  meet 
with. 

Mr.  Archdale  tells  us,  Mr.  Smith  succeeded  Mr.  Colli- 
ton, and  that  he  succeeded  Mr.  Smith ;  but  then  the  lat- 
ter must  have  been  twice  Governour :  For  we  find  seve- 
ral other  gentlemen,  who  had  that  title  and  office  before 
the  year  1694.  when  Mr.  Archdale  says,  Governour 
Smith  wrote  over  to  the  Proprietaries,  to  advise  them  to 
send  one  of  their  number  to  Carolina.  For  Col.  Robert 
Quarry  was  Governour  about  the  year  1690.  After 
him,  Mr.  Southwell.  And  in  the  year  1692.  Col.  Philip 
Ludwell  held  this  government.  In  which  't  is  certain, 
he  was  succeeded  by  the  above-mention'd  Thomas 
Smith,  Esq  ;  landgrave  of  this  province. 

We  are  not  doubtful  of  any  Error  in  this  Order  of 
the  Governours,  except  in  Mr.  Southwell's ;  our  infor- 
mations having  been  uncertain  as  to  him. 

"  Mr.  Smith,"  says  Mr.  Archdale,  "  was  a  wise,  sober, 
well-living  Man ;  who  grew  so  uneasy  in  the  Govern- 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  413 

merit,  by  Reason  he  could  not  satisfy  People  in  their 
Demands,  that  he  wrote  over.  Anno.  1694,  'It  was  im- 
possible to  settle  the  Country,  except  a  Proprietary  him- 
self was  sent  thither,  with  full  Power  to  hear  their 
Grievances.' "  The  Proprietaries  took  Governour  Smith's 
Letter  into  Consideration,  and  the  Lord  Ashley  was 
pitch'd  upon  by  all  the  Lords  as  a  Person  every  way 
qualify'd  for  so  gopd  a  Work ;  but  he  desir'd  to  be  ex- 
cus'd,  on  Account  of  his  particular  Affairs  in  England. 
Upon  which  Mr.  Archdale,  was  chosen  by  the  Proprie- 
taries, to  be  sent  over  with  large  and  ample  Pow- 
ers. Which  having  receiv'd,  he  embark'd  and  sail'd 
to  Carolina.  When  he  arriv'd,  and  enter'd  upon  the 
Government,  in  August,  1695.  he  found  all  Matters  in 
great  Confusion,  and  every  Faction  apply'd  themselves 
to  him,  in  hopes  of  Relief  In  order  to  which  he  sum- 
mon'd  an  Assembly,  and  made  a  kind  Speech  to  them. 
The  Parliament  chose  Jonathan  Amary  ,  Esq.  to  be 
their  Speaker ;  and  having  presented  a  dutiful  Address 
to  the  Governour,  proceeded  to  do  Business.  But  the 
Divisions  among  them  were  so  great,  that  had  not  Mr. 
Archdale  exercis'd  a  great  deal  of  Patience,  neither  his 
Power  as  Governour,  nor  his  higher  Title  of  Proprie  - 
tary,  could  have  brought  that  Assembly  to  any  Temper ; 
which  he  at  last  effected,  and  the  Disorders  of  the  Pro- 
vice  were  remedy'd. 

The  Parliament  presented  an  Address  of  Thanks  to 
the  Governour,  to  be  transmitted  to  the  Proprietaries, 
and  all  things  ended  well.  In  his  time  the  Tammasees, 
an  Indian  Nation,  who  formerly  liv'd  under  the  Spanish 
Government,  and  now  under  the  English,  made  an  in- 
cursion into  the  Territories  of  another  Indian  Nation, 
near  Sancta  Maria,  not  far  from  St.  Augustino,  took 
several  Prisoners,  and  intended  to  sell  them  for  Slaves 


414  OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA. 

at  Barbadoes,  or  Jamaica,  as  had  been  usual  among 
them.  Mr.  Archdale  hearing  of  it,  sent  for  the  King  of 
the  Tammasees,  and  order'd  him  to  bring  those  Indians 
to  Charles-  Town,  which  he  did.  They  were  Papists  ; 
and  the  Kings  of  England  and  Spain  being  at  that  time 
Confederates,  the  Governour  gave  the  King  of  the 
Tammasees  orders  to  carry  them  to  St.  Augustino,  with 
a  Letter  to  the  Governour :  which  may  serve  to  give  us 
an  Idea  of  the  Power  of  an  Indian  King,  who  receives 
orders  from  a  Governour  of  a  small  Province,  as  Carolina 
was  then  at  least,  whatever  it  is  now. 

The  Spaniard  who  commanded  in  St.  Augustino,  re- 
turn'd  Mr.  Archdale  a  Letter  of  Thanks ;  and  not 
long  after  another  Indian  King  was  sent  by  the  Span- 
ish Governour,  with  a  Letter  of  Complaint,  of  wrong 
done  the  Spanish  Indians,  by  those  ally'd  to  the 
English. 

The  Spanish  Indians  were  called  Churchcates ;  of 
whom  the  Apalachicoloes,  English  Indians,  had  kill'd 
three.  The  Governour  commanded  that  Nation,  and  all 
others  depending  on  the  English,  to  forbear  molesting 
those  within  the  Spanish  Jurisdiction;  which  had  so 
good  an  Effect,  that  when  Mr.  Robert  Barrow,  Mr.  Ed- 
ward Wardell,  and  other  Englishmen,  were  afterward 
cast  away  to  the  Southward  of  Augustino,  the  barba- 
rous Indians  offer'd  them  no  hurt ;  and  when  they  arriv'd 
at  that  Town,  the  Governour  supply'd  them  with  all 
Necessaries. 

Col.  Bull,  one  of  the  Council,  and  a  greater  Trader 
with  the  Indians,  engag'd  that  Nation  which  dwelt 
about  Cape  Fear,  to  submit  to  the  English,  who  how- 
ever were  afraid  to  trust  them ;  for  a  Vessel  coming 
from  Nerv-England,  being  shipwrack'd  on  that  Coast, 
the  Passengers,  to  the  number  of  52,  despaired  of  their 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  415 

Lives  from  those  Barbarians,  but  resolv'd  to  defend 
themselves  as  well  as  they  could  :  Accordingly  they 
entrench'd  in  their  little  Camp.  The  Indians  came 
down,  and  by  Signs  of  Friendship  invited  them  to 
come  forth ;  which  they  were  afraid  to  do.  At  last, 
when  their  Provisions  were  almost  all  spent,  some  of 
them  ventur'd  out,  were  kindly  receiv'd,  and  furnish'd 
by  the  Indians  with  Necessaries.  The  King  invited 
them  to  his  Town,  treated  them,  and  4  or  5  of  them  tra- 
velling to  Charles-Town,  gave  the  Governour  notice  of 
their  misfortunes ;  which  hearing,  he  sent  a  Ship  to 
fetch  the  rest ;  and  they  arriv'd  safely  at  the  Capital  of 
Carolina. 

In  Mr.  Archdale's  Time  two  Indians  quarrelling  in 
their  drinking  one  of  them  presently  kill'd  the  other ; 
whose  Wife  being  by,  immediately  dismembered  the 
Murderer,  to  revenge  her  Husband's  death,  cutting  off 
his  Privities  with  a  Knife.  The  Governour  happening 
to  be  near  the  Place  where  the  Murder  was  committed, 
order'd  the  Criminal  to  be  pursu'd.  He  was  taken  in  a 
Swamp  about  16  Miles  from  the  Town;  to  which  he 
was  sent  under  a  Guard.  The  Nation  to  whom  the 
slain  Indian  belong'd,  hearing  of  his  Death,  their  King 
came  to  Mr.  Archdale,  and  desir'd  Justice  upon  the 
Murderer.  Some  of  whose  Friends  would  have  bought 
him  off  as  usual ;  but  nothing  less  than  his  death  would 
satisfy  the  injur'd  Nation;  and,  according  to  the  custom 
of  his  Country,  the  Governour  order'd  him  to  be  shot 
by  the  Kinsman  of  the  Deceas'd.  As  he  was  leading 
to  execution,  his  King  came  to  him,  and  bid  him  "  die 
like  a  Man,  since  he  must  die,"  adding,  "  he  had  often 
forewarned  him  of  Rum,"  the  Liquor  which  he  was 
drunk  with  when  he  kill'd  the  Man,  "  and  now  he  must 
lose  his  Life  for  not  taking  his  Council." 


416  OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA. 

When  he  came  to  the  Tree,  he  desir'd  not  to  be  ty'd 
to  it,  but  to  stand  loose,  saying,  "  I  will  not  stir  when 
he  shoots  me."  So  he  was  shot  in  the  Head,  and  fell 
down  dead. 

This  piece  of  Justice  hinder'd  a  War  between  the 
Nations  to  which  these  two  Indians  belong'd.  The 
Indians  inhabiting  the  Country  about  the  River  Pemlico, 
were  almost  all  consum'd  by  a  Pestilential  Disease, 
while  this  Governourwas  in  Carolina;  and  the  Coran- 
ines,  a  bloody  and  barbarous  People,  were  most  of  them 
cut  off  by  a  neighbouring  Nation. 

In  his  Time  several  Families  remov'd  from  New- 
England  to  settle  at  Carolina,  and  seated  themselves  on 
the  River  Sewee,  in  North  Carolina.  These  are  all  the 
Events  which  happen'd  during  Mr.  Archdale's  Govern- 
ment, at  least  he  has  thought  fit  to  communicate  no 
more  to  the  Publick ;  and  as  inconsiderable  as  they  may 
appear  to  some  Persons,  who  are  us'd  to  turn  over  the 
Grsecian  and  Roman  Histories,  if  they  will  give  them- 
selves the  Trouble  to  examine  the  Affairs  of  these  two 
Empires,  they  will  find  them  as  trivial,  in  the  beginning 
at  least,  if  they  can  distinguish  the  History  from  the 
Fable. 

We  cannot  expect  much  Business  in  the  Infancy  of 
a  Colony  ;  and  yet  Carolina  is  not  so  young,  but  Fac- 
tions have  been  as  rampant  there,  as  if  the  People  had 
been  made  wanton  by  many  Ages  of  Prosperity. 

Mr.  Archdale,  to  use  his  own  Phrase,  "  Return'd 
for  England,  being  not  sent  for  Home."  And  Joseph 
Blake,  Esq.  son  of  the  before-mention'd  Mr.  Blake,  be- 
ing become  a  Proprietary,  was  looked  upon  as  the 
fittest  Person  to  succeed  him  in  his  Government;  in 
which  OflB.ce  he  behav'd  himself  to  the  Satisfaction  of 


OLDMIXON  S   CAROLINA.  417 

the   Countrj,  wluch  he  ^overn'd  with  equal  Prudence 
and  Moderation. 

In  his  Time,  Major  Daniel  brought  from  England  new 
Constitutions,  consisting  of  41  Articles,  wherein  as  am- 
ple Provision  was  made  for  Liberty  of  Conscience,  as 
in  the  Fundamental  Constitutions.  These  new  Laws 
were  call'd,  the  last  fundamental  constitutions,  and  sign'd 
by  John  Earl  of  Bath,  Palatine  ;  Anthony  Lord  Ashley, 
the  Lord  Craven,  the  Lord  Cartaret,  the  Earl  of  Bath, 
Sir  John  Colliton,  William  Thornburgh,  merchant,  Tho- 
mas Amy,  and  Wil.  Thornburgh ;  but  they  were  never 
confirm'd  in  Parliament  at  Carolina. 

Mr.  Blake,  tho'  he  was  himself  a  dissenter,  finding 
there  was  no  settled  maintenance  for  the  Church  of 
England  minister,  procur'd  an  act  of  Assembly  (in  which 
there  were  a  great  number  of  dissenters)  for  the  settling 
a  very  convenient  house  with  a  glebe,  two  servants,  and 
150/.  per  annum  upon  the  minister  of  Charles  Town  for 
ever.  'T  was  by  his  influence  that  act  past,  and  he 
gave  his  assent  to  it ;  he,  as  Governour,  having  a  nega- 
tive voice  to  all  bills.  His  lady  also  was  one  of  the 
greatest  benefactors  towards  the  ornaments  of  the 
Church.  And  this  friendship  deserv'd  a  more  grateful 
return  than  they  met  with  from  those  who  succeeded  in 
the  government. 

Mr.  Blake  dying  about  the  year  1700.  after  he  had 
been  Governour  4  or  5  years,  the  Proprietaries  deputies 
met,  according  to  their  instructions  in  such  cases,  and 
proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  new  Governour ;  which 
post  is  generally  conferred  on  the  eldest  landgrave,  if 
there  's  no  objection  to  him,  and  no  person  sent  from 
England  with  that  character. 

Joseph  Moreton,  Esq;  being  the  eldest  landgrave, 
was  elected  Governour  by  the  deputies :  but  Capt.  James 

53 


418  OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA. 

Moor,  one  of  these  deputies,  knowing  the  party  he  had 
among  them,  objected  against  Mr.  Moreton,  as  if  he  had 
made  a  breach  of  the  trust  reposed  in  him  by  the  true 
and  absolute  Lords  and  Proprietaries,  by  accepting  of  a 
commission  from  King  Wilham,  to  be  Judge  of  the  Ad- 
miralty, when  he  had  at  the  same  time  a  commission 
from  the  Lords  Proprietaries  for  the  same  office. 

Tho'  this  objection  was  answered  by  Mr.  Moreton's 
friends ;  "  That  it  did  not  appear  by  the  charter,  the 
Proprietaries  can  empower  any  one  to  try  persons  for 
facts  committed  out  of  their  dominions,  which  is  neces- 
sary for  such  a  judge  ;  "  and  the  Proprietaries  could  not 
grant  it ;  yet  such  was  Mr.  Moor's  interest,  that  on  this 
his  objection  Mr.  Moreton  was  set  aside,  and  his  oppon- 
ent Mr.  Moor  chosen  Governour.  Mr.  Moreton  inform'd 
and  complained  to  the  Proprietaries,  but  was  never  re- 
drest. 

From  this  election  I  date  the  rise  of  all  the  misfor- 
tunes that  have  since  befallen  this  colony,  and  that  have 
given  the  government  of  England  so  much  trouble. 

The  Earl  of  Bath  was  dead,  and  his  son,  John  Lord 
Granville,  lately  advanc'd  to  the  House  of  Peers,  was 
Palatine.  All  the  world  knew  how  zealous  that  gentle- 
man had  been  for  promoting  a  bill  against  occasional 
conformists  in  England,  and  that  he  shewed  his  aversion 
to  dissenters  even  in  the  court  of  Stannaries  in  the  West, 
while  he  was  Warden.  The  bitterness  of  his  spirit  ap- 
peared in  the  speeches  he  made  to  the  representatives 
of  that  court ;  and  was  such,  that  he  was  not  long  em- 
ployed by  a  government,  which  is  founded  on  prin- 
ciples of  justice  and  moderation;  which  has  in  all  things 
promoted  union,  and  which  has  united  the  hearts  of  all 
the  subjects  of  the  British  empire  more  than  all  the 


OLDMIXON  S  CAKOLINA.  419 

princes  could  do  since  the  conquest,  and  many  ages  be- 
fore it. 

In  an  ill  time  therefore  did  this  Palatine  countenance 
the  divisions  in  Carohna,  by  encouraging  this  and  the 
succeeding  Governour  in  their  vain  endeavours,  to  es- 
tablish that  for  a  law  there,  which  had  been  rejected 
with  such  marks  of  abhorrence  in  England  by  our  illus- 
trious representatives. 

Mr.  Moor  was  easily  confirm'd  in  his  new  dignity  by 
the  Palatine ;  and  as  he  is  said  to  have  sought  after  it  to 
enrich  himself,  so  he  made  use  of  it  to  that  end,  he 
being  in  mean  circumstances,  if  the  representation  of 
the  principal  inhabitants  of  the  colony  does  not  deceive 
us. 

Let  us  give  the  reader  the  proper  words,  that  we  may 
not  be  accus'd  of  partiality,  which  we  detest  in  all  things 
that  hurt  the  truth.  But  we  know  very  well,  that  fac- 
tion will  often  accuse  fact  of  partiality ;  and  an  historian 
may  write  things  true,  and  yet  by  writing  the  truth  only 
of  one  side,  and  concealing  what  is  to  its  disadvantage, 
it  may  give  a  plausible  appearance  to  a  bad  cause ; 
wherefore  we  solemnly  declare,  that  after  a  full  enquiry 
we  have  not  been  able  to  learn  any  thing  that  could 
excuse  the  disorders  we  are  about  to  relate,  and  vindi- 
cate the  administration  in  Carolina,  while  the  Lord 
Granville  was  Palatine.  Whether  that  Lord  or  his  Go- 
vern ours  ought  to  be  blam'd  most,  let  the  world  judge. 

Mr.  Moor,  says  the  author  of  the  above-mention'd  re- 
presentation,^ having  thus  boldly  gotten  the  government, 
resolv'd  to  make  the  best  use  of  his  authority,  and  find- 
ing himself  too  poor,  with  the  countenance  of  his  office, 
to  make  any  considerable  profit  of  the  Indian  trade,  he 

*  Case  of  Diss,  in  Car.  p.  29.  30. 


420  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

laid  the  design  of  getting  it  wholly  into  his  power.  He. 
to  that  end  procur'd  a  bill  to  be  brought  into  the  assem- 
bly, then  sitting,  for  regulating  the  Indian  trade  :  which 
bill  was  so  drawn,  that  had  it  past,  he  would  have  en- 
gross'd  all  that  beneficial  commerce.  But  Mr.  Robert 
Stephens  and  Mr.  Nicholas  Trott  (who  had  not  then 
forsaken  the  country  interest)  and  some  others,  so  plain- 
ly shew'd  the  ill  aim  of  that  act,  that  't  was  thrown  ont 
of  the  assembly  :  Which  Mr.  Moor  dissolv'd,  perceiving 
they  would  not  answer  his  ends. 

We  do  not  think  our  selves  oblig'd  to  keep  to  the 
words  of  this  representation,  which  are  too  rough  in 
some  places ;  but  we  keep  religiously  to  the  sense  ;  and 
having  refer'd  the  reader  in  the  margint  to  our  authority, 
he  cannot  suppose  we  endeavour  to  impose  on  him. 

The  Governour  call'd  a  new  assembly  about  the  lat- 
ter end  of  the  year  1701.  At  the  choosmg  of  which, 
tho'  the  right  of  electing  be  in  the  freeholders  only,  he 
so  influenc'd  the  sheriff,  that  strangers,  servants,  aliens ; 
nay,  malatoes  and  negroes  were  poll'd,  and  return'd. 

Such  as  at  the  place  of  election  oppos'd  these  prac- 
tices, were  abus'd,  and  some  assaulted  by  Mr.  Moor's 
favourites.  By  this  means  having  got  several  into  the 
assembly,  men  of  no  sense  and  credit,  who  would  vote 
as  he  would  have  them ;  he  there  kept  them  from  being 
thrown  out,  on  the  petition  of  those  who  were  unjustly 
excluded. 

CoUiton  count}?  sent  a  representation  against  him  to 
the  Palatine,  contauiing  in  substance  the  same,  as  that 
we  have  spoken  of  before ;  therefore  we  cannot  suspect 
the  truth  of  it. 

When  the  Governour  was  afraid  any  of  the  members^ 

*  Case  of  Diss,  in  Car.  p.  34. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  421 

he  was  sure  was  in  his  interest  would  be  turn'd  out,  on 
petitions,  he  prorogu'd  the  assembly ;  And  when  at  last 
they  were  suffered  to  sit,  the  inquiry  into  the  sheriff 
of  Berkley  county's  return  was  obstructed,  by  setting 
on  foot  an  ill  contriv'd  design  of  raising  forces  to  attack 
St.  Augustino,  a  fort  belonging  to  the  Spaniards,  to  the 
southward  of  Carolina.  If  any  member  of  the  assem- 
bly undertook  to  speak  against  it,  and  to  shew  hov/  un- 
able the  province  was  at  that  time  to  undertake  such  an 
expedition,  he  was  presently  look'd  upon  by  him  and 
his  adherents,  as  an  enemy  and  traitor  to  his  country ;  ^ 
and  accordingly  revil'd  and  affronted ;  tho'  the  true  de- 
sign of  the  expedition,  as  the  representation  from  Colli- 
ton  county  tells  us,  was  "  no  other  than  catching  and 
making  slaves  of  Indians  for  private  advantage."  He 
would  have  had  this  military  enterprize  been  undertak- 
en before  the  war  with  Spain  was  proclaim'd ;  but  the 
assembly  carry'd  that  in  the  negative. 

Before  we  treat  of  this  expedition,  we  must  observe 
what  past  further  in  the  assembly.  Mr.  John  Ash,  one 
of  the  members,  propos'd  to  have  the  last  Fundamental 
Constitutions,  which  Mr.  Daniel  brought  over,  confirm'd ; 
but  he  was  oppos'd  by  Mr.  Trott  and  Mr.  How,  the  Go- 
vernour's  creatures,  t 

This  Mr.  Trott  had  himself  been  Governour  of  Pro- 
vidence, and  behav'd  himself  so  arbitrarily,  that  he  was 
complain'd  of  to  King  William  some  Years  before. 
Trott  and  How  expos'd  the  Constitutions  as  ridicu- 
lous ;  and  the  Country  was  thus  left  in  an  unsettled 
Condition, 

There's  one  Article  in  this  Representation  which  is 
very   extraordinary :      "  That  the  said  late  Governour 

*  Case  of  Diss,  in  Car.  35         f  Ibid. 


422  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

Moor  did  grant  Commissions  to  Anthony  Dodsworth, 
Robert  Mackoone  and  others,^  to  set  upon,  assault,  kill, 
destroy,  and  take  as  many  Indians  as  they  possibly 
could ;  the  Profit  and  Produce  of  which  Indian  Slaves 
were  turn'd  to  his  private  Use.  Whereas  such  Under- 
takings, unjust  and  barbarous  in  themselves,  will  in  all 
Probability,  draw  upon  us  an  Indian  War." 

We  have  said  enough  to  give  an  Idea  of  the  Condi- 
tion the  People  of  Carolina  were  in  under  such  a 
Government,  and  have  taken  it  all  from  Memorials 
presented  by  their  Agents  to  the  Lords  Proprietaries. 
The  next  thing  that  comes  in  our  way  is  the  War  of 
Augustino. 

Two  Thousand  Pounds  were  rais'd  by  an  Act  of  the 
Assembly,  to  defray  the  Charge  of  this  Expedition. 
The  Govemour  prest  as  many  Merchant  Ships  as  were 
necessary  to  transport  the  Troops  he  intended  to  em- 
bark ;  who  were  order'd  to  rendezvous  at  Port-Royal. 

The  Number  of  Men  which  were  listed  for  this  En- 
terprize  were  1200,  600  English,  and  600  Indians. 
Col.  Moor  took  the  Command  on  himself,  as  General  of 
all  the  Forces  that  should  be  rais'd  within  the  Limits  of 
his  Government. 

Col.  Rob.  Daniel,  a  very  brave  Man,  commanded  a 
Party  who  were  to  go  up  the  River  in  Periaga's,  and 
come  upon  Augustino  on  the  Land  side,  while  the  Go- 
vemour sail'd  thither  and  attack'd  it  by  Sea.  ,They  both 
set  out  in  August,  1702.  Col.  Daniel  in  his  way  took 
St.  John^s,  a  small  Spanish  Settlement ;  as  also  St.  Ma- 
ry^s,  another  little  Village  belonging  to  the  Spaniards. 
After  which  he  proceeded  to  Augustino,  came  before 

*  Coll.  County  Repr.     Article  5. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  423 

the  Town,  enter'd  and  took  it ;  Col.  Moor  not  being  yet 
arrived  with,  the  Fleet. 

The  Inhabitants  having  notice  of  the  Approach  of  the 
English  had  pack'd  up  their  best  Effects,  and  retir'd  with 
them  into  the  Castle,  which  was  surrounded  by  a  very 
deep  and  broad  Moat. 

They  had  laid  up  Provisions  there  for  4  Months,  and 
resolv'd  to  defend  themselves  to  the  last  Extremity. 
However  Col.  Daniel  found  a  considerable  Booty  in  the 
Town.  The  next  Day  the  Governour  arriv'd,  and  a 
Council  of  War  was  immediately  call'd,  in  which  't  was 
resolv'd  to  land. 

Accordingly  the  Governour  came  ashore,  and  his 
Troops  following  him,  they  entrench'd,  posted  their 
Guards  in  the  Church,  and  block'd  up  the  Castle.  The 
English  held  the  Possession  of  the  Town  a  whole 
Month,  but  finding  they  could  do  nothing  for  want  of 
Mortars  and  Bombs,  they  dispatch'd  away  a  Sloop  for 
Jamaica  ;  but  the  Commander  of  the  Sloop,  instead  of 
going  thither,  came  to  Carolina^  out  of  Fear  or  Trea- 
chery. Finding  others  offer'd  to  go  in  his  stead,  he 
proceeded  in  the  Voyage  himself,  after  he  had  lain 
some  Time  at  Charles-  Town. 

The  Governour  all  this  while  lay  before  the  Castle 
of  Augustino,  in  expectation  of  the  Return  of  the  Sloop : 
Which  hearing  nothing  of,  he  sent  Col.  Daniel,  who 
was  the  Life  of  the  Action,  to  Jamaica,  on  the  same 
Errand. 

This  Gentleman  being  hearty  in  the  Design,  procur'd 
a  Supply  of  Bombs,  and  return'd  towards  Augustino. 
But  in  the  mean  time  two  Ships  appear'd  in  the  Offiing, 
which,  being  taken  to  be  two  very  large  Men  of 
War,  the  Governour  thought  fit  to  raise  the  Siege, 
and  abandon  his   Ships,   with  a    great    Quantity   of 


424  OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA. 

Stores,  Ammunition,  and  Provision,  to  the  Enemy. 
Upon  which  the  two  Men  of  War  entered  the  Port  of 
•  Augustino,  and  took  the  Governour's  Ships.  Some  say 
he  bm-nt  them  himself  Certain  it  is,  they  were  lost  to 
the  English,  and  that  he  return'd  to  Charles-Town  over 
Land,  300  Miles  from  Augustino.  The  two  Men  of 
War^that  were  thought  to  be  so  large,  proved  to  be 
two  small  Frigats,  one  of  82,  and  the  other  of  16 
Guns. 

When  Col.  Daniel  came  back  to  Augustino,  he  was 
chas'd,  but  got  away ;  and  Col.  Moor  retreated  with  no 
great  Honour  homewards.  The  Periagas  lay  at  St. 
JoJiJi's,  whither  the  Governour  retir'd,  and  so  to  Charles 
To7vn,  having  lost  but  two  Men  in  the  whole  Ex- 
pedition. Arratomakaw,  King  of  the  Yanioseaves, 
who  commanded  the  Indians,  retreated  to  the  Peria- 
gas with  the  rest,  and  there  slept  upon  his  Oars,  with 
a  great  deal  of  Bravery  and  Unconcern.  The  Go- 
vernour's Soldiers  taking  a  false  Alarm,  and  think- 
ihg  the  Spaniards  were  coming,  did  not  like  this  slow 
Pace  of  the  Indian  King  in  his  Flight ;  and  to  quicken 
him  into  it,  bad  him  make  more  haste  :  But  he  reply'd, 
"  No ;  though  your  Governour  leaves  you,  I  will  not 
stir  till  I  have  seen  all  my  Men  before  me." 

The  first  Representation,  call'd  also,  The  present 
State  of  Affairs  of  Carolina,^  reflects  a  little  too  bitterly 
on  Col.  Moor  on  this  Head ;  and  one  would  suspect 
the  Truth  of  what  it  contains,  if  it  was  not  confirmed 
by  the  second.  We  are  told  there,  "  They  sent  plun- 
der to  Jamaica  by  their  trusty  Officers,  under  colour  of 
seeking  Supplies,  and  sending  for  Bombs  and  Mortars." 
Which  is  a  malicious  Turn  given  by  Col  Moor's  Ene- 

*  Coll.  County  Repr.  p.  30. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  425 

mies  to  Gol.  Daniel's  going  to  Jamaica,'  who  by  the 
Dispatch  he  made  there  shewed  he  really  went  for  Mor- 
tars ;  and  had  the  Governour  staid  till  he  had  return'd, 
the  Castle  of  Augustino  had  perhaps  now  been  in  Eng- 
lish Hands  ;  for  the  Spaniards  had  not  above  200  Men 
aboard  the  two  Frigats.  This  Expedition,  as  unfortu- 
nate as  it  was  in  it  self,  was  much  more  so  in  the  Con- 
sequence of  it ;  for  it  brought  a  Debt  of  6000/.  on  the 
Province.  The  Assembly  had  been  under  a  Proroga- 
tion during  the  Governour's  absence,  and  when  he  re- 
turn'd they  met.  The  first  Thing  they  went  upon,  was 
to  raise  Money  to  pay  off  the  Debt  above-mention'd, 
and  then  they  took  into  Consideration  the  Danger  of  the 
Country,  as  it  lay  expos'd  to  the  Southward.  But  while 
these  Bills  were  passing,  another  for  the  better  regulat- 
ing elections,  pass'd  the  Lower  House  twice,  and  was  sent 
up  to  the  Governour  and  Council,by  whom 'twas  rejected 
without  so  much  as  a  Conference.  Upon  which  several 
of  the  Members,  jealous  of  their  Privileges,  and  being  so 
ordered  by  those  that  sent  them,  enter'd  their  Protesta- 
tion, and  left  the  House ;  "^  but  return'd  the  next  Day, 
offering  to  sit  longer,  if  the  rest  of  the  Assembly  would 
join  with  them  in  asserting  their  Right.  The  Whole 
Assembly  consists  of  but  30  Members,  and  15  of  them 
protested  against  the  irregular  Proceedings  of  the  Go- 
vernour. Instead  of  tempering  Matters,  when  they 
return'd  to  the  house,  they  were  abus'd  and  treated  with 
the  most  scandalous  reflections,  unbecoming  an  assem- 
bly that  represented  a  whole  province.  And  as  they 
were  insulted  within  doors,  they  were  assaulted  without; 
for  a  day  or  two  after  Lieut.  Col.  George  Dearsby  drew 
his  sword  upon  Thomas  Smith,  Esq;  a  landgrave,  and 

*  See  the  Representation  of  the  Members  of  CoUiton  County. 

54 


426  OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA. 

once  Govemour  of  the  colony,  threatning  his  hfe.  John 
Ash,  Esq;  a  member  of  the  assembly,   was  not  only 
abus'd  in  the  streets  by  a  company  of  drunken  fellows, 
but  forc'd  aboard  a  ship  belonging  to  Cap.  Rhett,  and 
threatned  to  be  hang'd,   or  sent  to  Jamaica,  or  left  on 
some  des art-Island.     This  Mr.  Ash  is  the  man  who  was 
employ'd  as  agent  for  the  people  of  Carolina,  to  repre- 
sent their  grievances  in  the  first  memorial,  call'd,  "  The 
Present  State  of  Affairs  in  Carolina; "  and  the  persons 
who  thus  barbarously  treated  him,  were  George  Dears- 
by,  Nicholas  Nary,  Thomas  Dalton,  and  others,  whom, 
says  the  representation  of  CoUiton  county,   article  xi. 
"  the   Governour  had  treated   immediately  before  the 
riot  began,  and  us'd  such  expressions  to  them,  as  gave 
them,    next  their  drink,    the  greatest   encouragements 
for  what  they  acted ; "  telling  them,  "  The  protesting 
members  would  bring  the  people  on  their  heads  for  neg- 
lecting to  pay  the  country's  debts.     After  the  riot   be- 
gan,  of  part  of  which  he  was  an  eye-witness,  having 
first  drunk  with  some  of  them,  he  withdrew  himself  out 
of  the  way."     This  riot  continued  4  or  5  days  ;  and  Ed- 
mund Bellinger,  Esq;  a  landgrave,  and  justice  of  peace, 
attempting  to  suppress  it,  was  call'd  opprobrious  names 
by  the  rioters,   and  Rhett  can'd  him  for  a  considerable 
time.     The  rioters  assaulted  Mr.  Joseph  Boon,  a  mer- 
chant, deputed  by  Colliton  county,  to  present  the  above- 
mention'd  second  representation  to  the   Palatine   and 
Lords  Proprietaries,  and  put  him  in  danger  and  fear  of 
his  life,  without  any  provocation.     The  same  they  did 
by  Mr.   James  Byres,  who  with  the  rest  complain'd  to 
the  Governour ;  and  receiving  no  satisfaction,  they  ask- 
ed him,  whether  he  did  not  look  on  himself,  as  Govern- 
our, oblig'd  to  keep  the  peace  of  the  province :  The  Go- 
vernour reply'd,  Thafs  a  question  Ij2m  not  ohlig'd  to  an- 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  427 

swer.     He  told  them,   't  was  a  justice  of  peace's  busi- 
ness. 

The  rioters  went  one  night  to  the  house  of  one  John 
Smith,  a  butcher  in  Charles-Town,  and  forcing  open  the 
door,  threw  down  a  woman  big  with  child,  and  other- 
wise misusing  her ;  she  brought  forth  a  dead  child,  with 
the  back  and  skull  broken.  These  instances  are  enough 
to  shew  any  man  the  temper  of  this  Governour  and  Ms 
party  ;  who  were  the  same  that  stickled  so  much  for  the 
unhappy  bill  we  must  speak  of  in  the  sequel  of  this  his- 
tory. What  follow'd  upon  this  riot,  is  told  us  in  the  late 
tract,  which  I  shall  make  use  of  in  the  author's  own 
words,  "  As  this  riot  was  rais'd  encourag'd  and  counte- 
nanc'd  by  the  said  Governour  and  council ;  ^  And  as  no 
assistance  could  be  obtain'd  to  quell  it,  so  all  methods 
to  enquire  into,  and  punish  it,  have  been  render'd  inef- 
fectual, and  the  course  of  justice  intirely  stop'd.  For  Sir 
Nathaniel  Johnson  was  made  Governour  in  the  room  of 
the  said  Moor.  The  said  Governour  Moor  was  presently 
made  Attorney  General ;  and  Mr.  Trott,  another  of  the 
chief  abettors  of  the  riot,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common 
Pleas  ;  who  in  this  province  is  sole  judge.  Sir  Nathan- 
iel Johnson  was  General  of  the  Leward  Islands,  in  the 
reign  of  the  late  King  James ;  but  he  quitted  his  go- 
vernment upon  the  revolution,  and  retir'd  to  Carolina, 
where  he  liv'd  privately  till  the  death  of  the  late  King 
James.  Upon  which  he  first  took  the  oaths  to  the  go- 
vernment ;  and  some  time  after  was  made  Governour  of 
the  province.  And  he  has  since  his  being  Governour 
appointed  such  sheriffs,  as  prevent  all  prosecutions  of 
this  riot  at  their  assizes  or  quarter  sessions  (which  are 
the  only  courts  of  justice  in  this  province)  where  crimes 

*  Case  of  Diss,  in  Car.  p.  19. 


428  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

of  this  nature  can  be  try'd ;  and  where  the  said  Mr. 
Trott  is  sole  judge,  by  returning  such  jurors  as  were 
known  abettors  of  the  said  riot :  So  that  there  is  a  total 
failure  of  justice,  and  nothing  but  corruption  in  the 
whole  frame  and  administration  of  government." 

Colliton  county  representation  tells  us  particularly, 
that  Mr.  Bellinger  did  what  in  him  lay  to  have  the  said 
riot  inquir'd  into.  He  gave  in  the  record  of  it  to  tbe  bench ; 
and  some  of  the  grand  jury  urg'd  to  have  it  presented, 
but  to  no  purpose.  The  first  representation  informs  us, 
that  the  grand  jury  presented  it  to  the  court  as  a  great 
grievance,  that  the  riot  was  not  look'd  into,  and  the 
rioters  prosecuted;  yet  no  justice  against  them  could 
be  obtain 'd ;  the  judge  giving  for  answer,  '  Twas  hefore 
the  council,  his  superiors :  The  present  Govemour,  "  That 
it  was  an  action  done  before  his  coming  to  the  govern- 
ment ;  that  he  thought  the  time  of  prosecution  laps'd, 
but  would  take  care  the  like  should  be  no  more." 

This  answer  had  in  the  last  part  of  it  a  face  of  moder- 
ation; and  such  an  air  was  necessary,  because  an 
assembly  was  about  being  elected.  "The  conspirators," 
as  my  author  terms  them,^  ''  saw  that  a  new  Parliament 
might  set  all  things  to  rights  again,  and  therefore  when 
the  time  of  a  new  election  came,  which,  according  to 
their  constitution,  is  once  in  two  years ;  they  resolv'd 
to  procure  a  commons  house  of  assembly  of  the  same 
complexion  with  the  former,  and  by  more  illegal  prac- 
tices. If  those  they  had  us'd  in  the  former  elections 
would  not  do  their  business,  their  designs  took  effect ; 
and  such  a  commons  house  of  assembly  was  return'd, 
as  fully  answered  their  expectations." 

The  first  representation  brought  over  by  Mr.  Ash,  in- 

*  Case  of  Diss,  in  Car.  p.  20. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  429 

forms  us,  "  That  at  the  election  for  Berkley  and  Cra- 
ven county,  the  violence  in  Mr.  Moor's  time,  and  all 
other  illegal  practices,  were  with,  more  violence  repeat- 
ed, and  openly  avow'd  by  the  present  Governour,  and 
his  friends." 

The  second  representation  adds,  "  Jews,  strangers, 
sailors,  servants,  negroes,  and  almost  every  Frenchman 
in  Craven  and  Berkley  counties,  came  down  to  elect, 
and  their  votes  were  taken,  and  the  persons  by  them 
voted  for,  were  return'd  by  the  sheriffs." 

The  assembly  meeting,  chose  Job  How,  Esq;  to  be 
their  speaker,  and  this  was  that  parliament,  who,  to  op- 
press the  Protestant  dissenters,  brought  in  a  bill  con- 
trary to  the  first  and  last  Fundamental  Constitutions  to 
the  true  interest  of  the  colony,  and  the  right  of  every 
freeholder  there.  'T  was  entitl'd,  "  An  act  for  the  more 
effectual  preservation  of  the  government,  by  requiring 
all  persons  that  shall  hereafter  be  chosen  members  of 
the  commons  house  of  assembly,  and  sit  in  the  same, 
to,  &c.  and  to  conform  to  the  religious  worship  in  this 
province,  according  to  the  church  of  England,  and  to 
receive  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  according 
to  the  rights  and  usage  of  the  said  Church." 

Every  Dissenter  that  was  turned  out  of  the  house,  by 
virtue  of  this  act,  made  room  for  the  most  bigotted  of  the 
faction  to  get  in;  for  it  provided,  that  the  person  who 
had  the  most  votes  next  to  such  dissenter,  should  be  ad- 
mitted in  his  place ;  and  those  that  oppos'd  the  dissent- 
ers being  generally,  according  to  the  before-mention'd 
author,  men  of  violent  and  persecuting  principles,  the 
faction  secur'd  the  pov/er  in  their  own  hands. 

There  were  12  Members  for  this  Bill,  and  11  against 
it,  in  the  Lower  House ;  and  in  the  Upper,  Joseph 
Moreton,  Esq.  a  Landgrave,  and  one  of  the  Proprieta- 


430  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

ry's  Deputies  was  deny'd  the  Liberty  of  entering  his 
Protest  against  it.  The  Bill  pass'd  the  6th  of  May, 
A.  D.  1704.  and  was  sign'd  by  Sir  Nathaniel  John- 
son, Col.  Thomas  Broughton,  Col.  James  Moor,  Ro- 
bert Gibbs,  Esq;  Henry  Noble,  Esq;  Nicholas  Trott, 
Esq. 

The  Governour  and  Proprietaries  Deputies,  upon 
passing  this  Act,  allarm'd  all  the  Dissenters,  who  ac- 
cording to  the  Orthodox  Minister  of  Charles  Tonm, 
the  Reverend  Mr.  Marston's  Letter  to  the  Reverend 
Dr.  Stanhope,^  are  the  soberest,  most  numerous,  and 
richest  People  of  this  Province ;  and  this  Assembly 
was  compos'd  of  many  Men  of  very  loose  and  corrupt 
Morals. 

We  have  shewn  in  the  Beginning  of  the  History  of 
Carolina,  that  by  the  Fundamentals  of  the  Province,  the 
Dissenters  could  not  be  justly  excluded  from  any  Rights 
of  the  Members  of  it ;  we  have  shewn  here  what  a  Sort 
of  Convention,  and  by  what  Government  countenanc'd, 
this  Assembly  was  ;  and  there's  no  need  of  exaggerat- 
ino-  matters,  to  make  the  thinof  look  black  ;  wherefore 
we  shall  proceed  in  our  History. 

It  cannot  be  imagin'd  that  a  People,  who  had  been 
us'd  so  ill,  would  sit  still,  and  tamely  bear  such  bar- 
barous Usage :  especially  considering  those  that  were 
concern'd  in  the  Riot  were  some  of  the  worst,  and 
those  that  suffer'd  by  it,  some  of  the  best  Men  in  the 
Province. 

Col.  Joseph  Moreton,  and  Edmund  Bellinger,  Esq ; 
Landgraves,  and  Deputies  of  the  Lords  Proprietaries, 
all  the  other  Members  of  Colliton  County,  and  several 
of  the  greatest  Worth  and  Reputation  in  Berkley  Coun- 

*  Case  of  Diss,  part  II.  p.  57. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  431 

ty,  prevail'd  with  Mr.  Joseph  Ash  to  come  for  England, 
to  represent  the  miserable  State  of  the  Province  to  the 
Proprietaries. 

The  Faction  being  apprehensive  of  their  Danger  in 
such  a  Proceeding,  did  their  utmost  to  prevent  Mr. 
Ash's  Voyage ;  and  't  vi^as  not  vv^ithout  the  greatest 
Difficulty  that  he  got  away  from  Carolina  to  Virginia, 
where  his  Powers  and  Instructions  were  convey'd  to 
him,  as  Agent  for  the  Gentlemen  and  Inhabitants  above- 
nam'd. 

Coming  to  England,  he  apply'd  himself  to  the  Lord 
Granville,  then  Proprietary  of  the  Province :  But 
finding  he  was  entirely  in  the  Interests  of  the  prevailing 
Party  in  Carolina,  he  despair'd  of  seeing  the  Grievances 
he  came  to  complain  of,  redress'd :  He  therefore  drew 
up  the  first  Representation,  often  cited  in  this  Treatise, 
printed  a  Sheet  of  it,  and  intended  to  go  through 
with  it ;  but  dy'd  before  he  could  finish  it ;  and  his 
Papers,  after  his  Death,  were  betray 'd  into  his  Enemies 
Hands. 

How  this  Agency  was  liked  in  Carolina,  we  may 
suppose ;  and  that  the  Author  of  "  The  Case  of  the 
Dissenters  in  Carolina,'^  does  not  impose  upon  ns,  in 
telling  us,  "  The  Governour  and  his  Agents  prosecuted 
and  insulted  several  of  the  Inhabitants,  and  particularly 
Landgrave  Smith,  on  the  Account  of  some  private  Let- 
ters which  they  sent  to  the  said  Ash,  w^hile  he  was  in 
Virginia  and  England,  and  which  were  found  among  the 
Papers  betray'd  to  the  Governour's  Agents." 

Mr.  Ash  may  probably  represent  Things  with  too 
much  Partiality,  especially  if  what  Mr.  Archdale  says 
of  him  be  true ;  *  "  Their  first  Agent  seem'd  not  a  Person 

*  Descripton  of  Carolina,  p.  25 


432  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

suitably  qualifiy'd  to  represent  their  State  here,  not  that 
he  wanted  Wit,  but  Temper." 

What  Share  the  Governour  had  in  this  Business, 
appears  also  in  the  same  Tract.  ^  "  Sir  Nathaniel  John- 
son b}'-  a  Chymical  Wit,  Zeal,  and  Art,  transmuted  or 
turn'd  this  Civil  Difference  into  a  religious  Controver- 
sy ;  and  so  setting  up  a  Standard  for  those  called  High 
Church,  ventur'd  at  all  to  exclude  all  the  Dissent- 
ers out  of  the  Assembly,  as  being  those  principally 
that  were  for  a  strict  Examination  into  the  Grounds 
and  Causes  of  the  Miscarriage  of  the  Augustmo  Expedi- 
tion." 

The  Party  did  not  stop  here  ;  for  on  the  4th  of  No- 
vember an  Act  past,  and  was  sign'd  by  the  Governour, 
and  the  Deputies  above-nam'd;  entitl'd  "An  Act  for 
establishing  Religious  Worship  in  this  Province  accord- 
ing to  the  Church  of  England  ;  and  for  the  erecting  of 
Churches  for  the  Publick  Worship  of  God,  and  also  for 
the  Maintenance  of  Ministers,  and  the  building  conve- 
nient Houses  for  them."  f 

Which  Act  Mr.  Archdale  acquaints  us,  "  notwith- 
standing its  splendid  Gloss,  savour'd  of  a  persecuting 
Spirit,  and  of  a  haughty  Dominion  over  the  Clergy  it- 
self ;  for  they  set  up  a  High  Commission  Court,  giving 
them  power  to  place  and  displace  Ministers,  and  act 
much  in  the  Nature  of  the  High  Commission  Court 
erected  by  King  James  H.  in  England."  These  Commis- 
sioners were  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson,  Thomas  Brough- 
ton.  Esq ;  Col.  James  Moor,  Nicholas  Trott,  Esq ;  Col. 
Robert  Gibbes,  Job  How,  Esq;  Ralph  Izard,  Esq;  Col. 
James  Risbee,  Col.  George  Logan,  Lieut.  Colonel 
William  Rhett,  William  Smith,  Esq  ;  Mr.  John  Stroude, 

*  Description  of  Carolina,  p.  23.     f  Ibid  p.  24. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA,  433 

Mr.  Thomas  Hubbard,  Richard  Beresford,  Esq;  Mr. 
Robert  Seabrook,  Mr.  Hugh  Hicks,  John  Ashby,  Esq ; 
Capt.  John  Godfrey,  James  Serurier,  ahas  Smith,  Esq; 
and  Mr.  Thomas  Barton. 

It  will  not  be  improper  to  give  a   Character  of  this 
James  Seruirer,  who  has  been  mightily  employ'd  by  the 
present  Government  in  Carolina  ;  and  we  cannot  do  it 
better,  than  in  using  the  same  Words  Mrs.  Blake,    Mo- 
ther of  the  Proprietary  Joseph  Blake,  Esq;  writes  to  the 
Lords  Proprietaries.     "  Towards  the  satisfaction  of  the 
Augustino  debt,  an  act  was  contriv'd  for  forcing  the  cur- 
rency of  bills   of  credit  to  the  value  of  6000/.     These 
bills  were  declar'd  current  in  all  payments,  and  the  re- 
fuser of  them  sueable  in  double  the  value  of  the  sum 
refus'd ;    whereby  the  boldest  stroke  has  been  given  to 
the  property  of  the  settlers  in  this  province,  that  ever 
was  known  in  any  country  not  governed  by  arbitrary 
power.     And  the  bad  consequences  of  this  forc'd  cur- 
rency, in  relation  to  trade  with  strangers,  are  so  great, 
that  they  can  scarcely  be   exprest.     But  there  has  no- 
thing of  this  been  weighed  by  your  Lordship's  deputies 
here,  or  by  the  pack'd  members  of  our  commons  house 
of  assembly.     Besides  all  this,  the  people  are  not  satis- 
fy'd  how  many  bills  are  truly  sent  abroad ;    and  the 
great  concern,  Mr.  James  Smith,   alias   Serurier  (who 
cheated  the   Scots  company  of  a  considerable  sum  of 
money,  and  with  his  keeper  made  his  escape  from  Lon- 
don hither)  had  in  this  contrivance,  gives  a  jealousy  of 
indirect  practices."     By   this  the   reader  understands 
what  inconveniences  the  Augustino  expedition  brought 
upon  the  colony,   and  what  sort  of  persons  were  pro- 
moters of  this  occasional  bill  in  America.     But  to  shew 
that  this  faction  in  the  assembly  had  nothing  less  in 
their  view,  than  the  real  advancement  of  religion,  and 

55 


434  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

the  Church  of  England ;  ^  the  Reverend  Mr.  Edward 
Marston,  minister  of  that  Church  in  Charles  Town, 
was  censur'd  by  them,  for  three  passages  of  a  sermon 
preach'd  there  by  him ;  two  of  which  passages  were 
not  in  the  said  sermon ;  and  that  which  was  amounted 
to  no  more,  than  that  the  clergy  had  a  divine  right  to  a 
maintenance.  They  depriv'd  him  of  his  salary  settl'd 
on  him  by  act  of  Parliament,  and  of  50/.  besides  due  to 
him  by  an  act  of  Assembly :  Tho'  the  chief  reason  was 
his  having  visited  Mr.  Landgrave  Smith,  when  he  was 
in  custody  of  a  messenger,  being  committed  by  the 
commons  house,  and  living  friendly  with  the  dissen- 
ters. 

Of  this  Assembly  the  same  reverend  divine  says, 
"  They  made  some  very  odd  and  unjustifiable  laws, 
which  have  occasion'd  great  feuds  and  animosities  here. "f 
And  in  his  representation  to  the  Lords  Proprietaries  ; 
^'  Most  of  the  late  members  of  Assembly  have  been  con- 
stant absenters  from  the  holy  Sacrament:  So 't  is  no 
wonder  they  have  inserted  an  absurd  oath  in  a  late  act, 
&c.  I  cannot  think  it  will  be  much  for  the  credit  and 
service  of  the  Church  of  England  here,  that  such  pro- 
visions should  be  made,  for  admitting  the  most  loose 
and  profligate  persons  to  sit  and  vote  in  the  making  of 
our  laws,  who  will  but  take  the  oath  appointed  by  the 
late  act."  And  of  the  High  Commissioners  't  is  said, 
"  Eleven  of  the  twenty  were  never  known  to  receive 
the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper." 

And  that  this  furious  faction  were  no  friends  to  the 
Church  of  England  is  plain,  by  their  design  to  wrest  the 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  out  of  the  hands  of  the  right 
reverend  father  in  God,  Henry  Lord  Bishop  of  London. 

*  Case  of  Diss  in  Car.  p.  23.      t  See  his  letter  to  Dr.  Stanhope,  Part  II. 


OLDMIXON  S  CAROLINA.  435 

Mr.  Marston  being  threaten'd  in  Col.  Risbee's  house, 
"  That  at  the  next  sessions  of  Assembly  he  should  see 
the  Bishop  of  London's  jurisdiction  abolish'd  there."  And 
of  this  Carolina  Parliament  he  adds  further,  "  Our  lower 
house  of  Assembly  imprison  by  a  vote  of  the  house, 
sinie  die,  and  bid  defiance  to  the  Habeas  Corpus  act,  tho' 
made  in  force  there  by  an  act  of  Assembly."  The  Go- 
vernour  was  very  "  cholerick  with  the  minister,  because 
he  had  made  Landgrave  Smith  a  visit,  at  the  house  of 
the  messenger;  and  a  bully  lash'd  him  causelessly  with 
his  whip,  and  tore  his  gown  from  his  back.  His  crea- 
tures also  in  the  assembly  were  the  occasion  of  his  suf- 
ferings." 

If  I  am  accus'd  of  being  partial  in  representing  this 
matter,  I  answer,  that  besides  the  Memorials  publish'd 
by  the  agent  of  Carolina,  Mr.  Archdale's  tract  and 
others,  I  have  diligently  inquired  into  the  truth  of  the 
fact,  and  have  not  been  able  to  learn  the  least  hint  that 
makes  against  it,  or  vindicates  the  party  that  is  com- 
plain'd  of,  and  were  powerfully  protected  by  the  Lord 
Granville ;  notwithstanding  it  was  made  out  to  him, 
that  the  Assembly  in  passing  the  occasional  bill  in  Caro- 
lina,* were  guilty  of  the  most  notorious  ill  practices,  and 
were  men  of  corrupt  principles  and  manners.  That  bill 
was  brought  into  the  house  the  4th  of  May,  and  carry'd 
so  precipitately,  that  it  past  the  6th,  four  days  before 
the  time  to  which  they  were  prorogu'd.  There  never 
were  above  23  members  present,  from  the  26th  of  April 
to  the  6th  of  May.  There  was  but  one  more  for  it 
than  against  it;  and  of  the  latter  many  were  members 
of  the  Church  of  England. 

There  's  one  thing  very  remarkable  in  the  act,  which 

*  Part  I.  p.  38. 


436  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

is  the  stile :  "  Be  it  enacted,  by  his  Excellency  John 
Lord  Granville,  and  the  rest  of  the  true  and  absolute 
Lords  and  Proprietors  of  Carolina,"  &c.  A  stile  never 
assum'd  by  them  till  very  lately.  From  whence  we  may 
observe  how  pleas'd  that  faction  is  every  where  with 
the  despotick  and  absolute  power,  insomuch  as  to  usurp 
the  name,  when  they  cannot  obtain  any  thing  more. 
The  case  of  the  Dissenters  in  Carolina,  is  so  full  of  irre- 
gularities in  the  course  of  this  affair,  that  we  must  refer 
the  reader  to  it.  We  have  taken  the  most  material,  and 
now  are  to  see  what  was  done  in  England  relating  to 
this  matter. 

The  principal  merchants  in  London  trading  to  Carolina^ 
drew  up  a  petition  to  the  Lord  Granville  against  passing 
this  act,  or  to  order  its  repeal.  Which  petition  they 
lodg'd.  with  Mr.  Boone,  the  agent  of  Carolina,  who  so- 
licited the  Palatine  seven  weeks  before  he  could  prevail 
to  have  a  board  of  Proprietaries  call'd. 

Mr.  Archdale,  one  of  the  Proprietaries,  oppos'd  the 
ratifying  the  bill  against  the  dissenters, at  the  board,  and 
with  such  solid  reasons,  that 't  is  amazing  to  find  the 
Palatine  make  this  short  answer  to  all  of  'em :  "  Sir, 
you  are  of  one  opinion,  and  I  am  of  another ;  and  our 
lives  may  not  be  long  enough  to  end  the  controversy :  I 
am  for  this  bill,  and  this  is  the  party  that  I  will  head 
and  countenance." 

What  other  tone  could  he  have  talk'd  in  had  he  been 
Sultan  of  Carolina?  Mr.  Boone  pray'd  he  might  be 
heard  by  council.  The  Palatine  reply'd,  "  What  busi- 
ness has  council  here  ?  It  is  a  prudential  act  in  me ; 
and  I  will  do  as  I  see  fit.  I  see  no  harm  at  all  in  this 
bill,  and  I  am  resolv'd  to  pass  it."  He  should  have 
added,  Car  tel  est  notre  Plaisir. 

As  all  methods  to  procure  justice  from  this  board  were 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  437 

ineffectual,  in  the  case  of  the  dissenters,  the  same  were 
they  in  Mr.  Marston's  case,  and  the  abuses  he  met  with 
from  the  party,  the  Lord  Granville  was  resolv'd  to  head 
and  countenance.  And  what  that  party  was  in  England, 
and  how  they  have  seen  their  unreasonable  attempts 
baffl'd  and  exploded,  is  too  well  known,  to  need  any  re- 
membrance here. 

The  bill  which  occasion'd  all  the  complaints  in  Caro- 
lina, having  past  thus  illegally  and  arbitrarily,  the  di^ 
senters  in  this  province  being  notoriously  hnown  to  he 
above  two-thirds  of  the  people,  and  the  richest  and  sober- 
est among  them,  according  to  Mr.  Marston's  evidence, 
't  was  not  likely  that  they  would  suffer  themselves  to  be 
insulted  and  persecuted  without  seeking  redress.  The 
very  Assembly  who  past  the  bill  about  half  a  year  after- 
wards past  another  to  repeal  it,  when  the  house  was 
full ;  but  it  was  lost  in  the  upper  house ;  "  and  the  Go- 
vernour,  in  great  indignation  dissolv'd  the  commons 
house,  by  the  name  of  the  Unsteady  Assembly.  The 
Society  for  propagating  the  gospel  in  America  and  else- 
where, meeting  in  St.  Paul's  church,  taking  the  act  for 
the  establishing  religious  worship,  &c.  into  consideration, 
resolv'd  not  to  send  or  support  any  missionaries  in  that 
province,  till  the  said  act,  or  the  clause  relating  to  the 
lay  commissionaries,  was  annul'd. 

There  being  no  hopes  of  any  redress  of  the  grievances 
the  inhabitants  of  this  colony  suffer'd  in  Carolina,  nor 
from  the  Lords  Proprietaries  in  England,  they  re- 
solv'd to  bring  the  matter  before  the  house  of  Lords 
in  England,  not  doubting  but  to  have  entire  justice  done 
them  by  that  august  Assembly ;  where  the  language  of 
their  Palatine  was  never  heard  from  the  throne,  at  least 
in  this  reign,  or  the  last ;  both  which  are  the  glory  of  the 
British  annals. 


438  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

Mr.  Boon  was  not  only  empower'd  by  the  principal 
inhabitants  of  Carohna  to  act  as  their  agent,  but  he  was 
assisted  in  his  agency  by  several  eminent  merchants  of 
London  who  sign'd  the  petition  to  the  House  of  Lords ; 
as  Mr.  Michaiah  Perry,  Mr.  Joseph  Paice,  Mr.  Peter 
Renew,  Mr.  Cliristopher  Fowler,  and  others. 

The  Effect  of  which  was,  after  a  full  hearing  of  the 
Cause  at  the  Lord's  Bar,  that  most  Honourable  House, 
who  have  done  such  great  Things  for  the  Liberties  of 
England,  voted  an  Address  to  the  Queen,  in  be- 
half of  the  Province  of  Carolina :  But  the  Reader 
cannot  be  better  satisfy'd,  than  to  have  it  in  their  own 
Words ;  by  which  the  State  of  the  Case  will  be  best 
seen. 

^  "The  House  having  fully  and  maturely  weigh'dthe 
Nature  of  these  two  Acts,  found  themselves  oblig'd 
in  Duty  to  your  Majesty,  and  in  Justice  to  your  Sub- 
jects in  Carolina,  (who  by  the  Express  Words  of 
the  Charter  of  Your  Royal  Uncle  King  Charles  H. 
granted  to  the  Proprietors,  are  declared  to  be  the  Liege 
People  of  the  Crov/n  of  England,  and  to  have  Right 
to  all  the  Liberties,  Franchises,  and  Privileges  of 
Englishmen,  as  if  they  were  born  within  this  King- 
dom .  And  who  by  the  Words  of  the  same  Charter, 
are  to  be  subject  to  no  Laws,  but  such  as  are  con- 
sonant to  Reason,  and  as  near  as  may  be  to  the  Laws 
and  Customs  of  England)  to  come  to  the  following  Re- 
solutions. 

"  First,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  house,  that  the 
act  of  the  assembly  of  Carolina,  lately  pass'd  there,  and 
since  sign'd  and  seal'd  by  John  Lord  Granville,  Palatine, 

*  The  Humble  Address  of  the  Right  Honourable  the  Lords  Spiritual 
and  Temporal  in  Parliament  assembled,  Die  Martii  12,  1705. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  439 

for  himself,  and  for  the  Lord  Cartarett,  and  the  Lord 
Craven,  and  Sir  John  Colliton,  four  of  the  Proprietors 
of  that  Province,  in  order  to  the  ratifying  it,  entitled, 
*  An  Act  for  the  establishing  Religious  Worship  in  this 
Province,  according  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  for 
the  erecting  of  Churches  for  the  public  Worship  of  God, 
and  also  for  the  Maintenance  of  Ministers,  and  building 
convenient  Houses  for  them.'  So  far  forth  as  the  same 
relates  to  the  establishing  a  Commission  for  the  dis- 
placing the  Rectors  or  Ministers  of  the  Churches  there, 
is  not  warranted  by  the  Charter  granted  to  the  Proprie- 
tors of  that  Colony,  as  being  not  consonant  to  Reason, 
repugnant  to  the  Laws  of  this  Realm,  and  destructive  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  Church  of  England. 

"  Secondly,  That  it  is  the  Opinion  of  this  House, 
That  the  Act  of  the  Assembly  of  Carolina,  entitled, 
'An  Act  for  the  more  effectual  Preservation  of  the 
Government  of  this  Province,  by  requiring  all  Persons 
that  shall  hereafter  be  chosen  Members  of  the  Commons 
House  of  Assembly,  and  sit  in  the  same,  to  take  the 
Oaths,  and  subscribe  the  Declaration  appointed  by  this 
Act,  and  to  conform  to  the  Religious  Worship  in  this 
Province,  according  to  the  Rites  and  Usage  of  the  said 
Church,'  lately  pass'd  there,  and  sign'd  and  seal'd  by 
John  Lord  Granville,  Palatine,  for  himself,  and  the  Lord 
Craven,  and  also  for  the  Lord  Cartarett,  and  by  Sir 
John  Colliton,  four  of  the  Proprietors  of  that  Province, 
in  order  to  the  ratifying  of  it,  is  founded  upon  Falsity  in 
matter  of  Fact,  is  repugnant  to  the  Laws  of  England, 
contrary  to  the  Charter  granted  to  the  Proprietors  of 
that  Colony,  is  an  Encouragement  to  Atheism  and 
Irreligion,  destructive  to  Trade,  and  tends  to  the  depo- 
pulating and  ruining  the  said  Province. 


440  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

"  May  it  please  your  Majesty ; 

"  We  your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  Subjects,  having 
thus  humbly  presented  our  Opinions  of  these  Acts,  we 
beseech  your  Majesty  to  use  the  most  effectual  methods 
to  deliver  the  said  Province  from  the  arbitrary  Op- 
pressions, under  which  it  now  lies ;  and  to  order  the 
Authors  thereof  to  be    prosecuted  according  to  Law." 

To  which  Her  Majesty  was  graciously  pleased  to 
answer : 

"  I  thank  the  House  for  laying  these  matters  so  plain- 
ly before  me  ;  I  am  very  sensible  of  what  great  Conse- 
quence the  Plantations  are  to  England,  and  will  do  all 
that  is  in  my  Power  to  relieve  my  Subjects." 

It  appear'd  to  the  House,  that  some  of  the  Proprie- 
tors absolutely  refus'd  to  join  in  these  Acts.  This  mat- 
ter being  referred  to  the  Lords  of  the  Committee  of 
Trade,  they  examin'd  into  it ;  and  finding  all  the  Fact 
charg'd  upon  the  Promoters  of  these  Bills,  true,  repre- 
sented to  Her  Majesty,  the  24th  of  May,  1706.  That 
the  making  such  Laws  is  an  Abuse  of  the  Power  grant- 
ed to  the  Proprietors  by  their  Charter,  and  will  be  a  for- 
feiture of  such  Power.  They  further  humbly  oflfer'd  to 
Her  Majesty,  That  she  v/ould  be  pleas'd  to  give  Direc- 
tions for  re-assuming  the  same  into  her  Majesty's  Hands 
by  Scire  Facias,  in  Her  Majesty's  Court  of  Queen's 
Bench.  Wliicli  Representation  was  signed  by  the 
Right  Honourable  the  Lord  Dartmouth,  the  Honourable 
Robert  Cecil,  Esq ;  Sir  Philip  Meadows,  William  Blath- 
wayte,  Esq  ;  Matthew  Prior,  Esq ;  and  John  Pollexfen, 
Esq. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  her  majesty  was  pleased  to 
approve  of  the  said  representation ;  and  accordingly 
having  declar'd  the  Laws  mention'd  therein  to  be 
JNULL  and  VOID,  did  order,    That  for  the  more  effec- 


OLDMIXON  S  CAROLINA.'  441 

tual  proceeding  against  the  said  charter  by  way  of  Quo 
Warranto,  Mr.  Attorney,  and  Mr.  Solicitor  General  do 
inform  themselves  fully  concerning  what  may  be  most 
necessary  for  effecting  the  same. 

Thus  did  our  most  Gracious  Sovereign  hear  the  cry 
of  the  oppress'd,  right  the  innocent,  and  do  justice  on 
the  oppressor.  For  no  distance  of  country  can  put 
any  of  her  subjects  out  of  her  protection ;  nor  no  differ- 
ence of  opinion  (provided  they  are  kept  within  the 
bounds  of  duty  and  religion)  prevent  her  favouring 
alike  all  her  people,  and  doing  her  utmost  to  make  them 
all  happy,  as  the  infinite  God  has  made  her  reign  to 
herself,  and  her  empire  in  a  distinguish'd  manner. 

The  assembly  which  pass'd  these  two  memorable 
acts  were  dissolv'd  in  the  following  year,  and  a  new 
one  summon'd  to  meet  at  Charles  Town.  At  the  elec- 
tion, Craven  and  Berkley  counties  were  so  streight- 
ned  by  the  qualifying  act,  that  they  had  not  20  men  to 
represent  them,  unless  they  -would  choose  a  dissenter, 
or  a  man  not  fit  to  sit  in  the  assembly.  Nineteen  of  the 
party  against  the  Occasional  Bill  were  chosen,  and  one 
Mr.  Job  How  was  elected  by  the  interest  of  the  Goose- 
creek  faction,  a  branch  of  the  former.  The  French, 
who  were  free-holders,  voted  for  them,  being  induc'd  to 
it,  by  a  Frenchman's  being  set  up  for  a  candidate.  They 
also  procur'd  masters  of  ships,  particularly  Cap.  Cole, 
who  lay  in  the  harbour,  to  vote  on  their  side.  This 
election  was  made  in  the  town,  and  the  faction  gave 
t)ut,  an  Assembly  was  chosen,  who  would  repeal  the 
Church-act,  and  not  pay  the  Augustino  debt,  threatning 
if  they  did,  the  house  and  town  should  quickly  be  too 
hot  to  hold  them. 

In  Colliton  county,  there  were  about  14  men  would 
qualify  themselves:    Therefore  none  of  the  dissenters 

66 


442  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

appear'd,  and  there  were  but  10  votes  out  of  200  that 
appear'd  at  the  election.  The  10  electors  voted  for  14 
candidates,  and  the  sheriff  return'd  10  that  had  the  ma- 
jority of  votes. 

On  Jan.  2.  1705.  the  members  met,  but  not  enough 
to  make  a  house,  and  choose  a  speaker.  Mr.  Stephens, 
one  of  the  members,  ask'd  Mr.  How,  in  the  Governour's 
presence,  to  attend ;  but  he  refus'd.  Before  night  the 
house  was  compleat,  and  waited  on  the  Governour,  and 
ask'd  if  he  would  direct  them  to  choose  a  speaker?  He 
answer'd,  he  thought  't  was  too  late,  but  if  thej  would 
venture  they  must  do  it  with  speed,  for  he  was  not  well, 
and  't  would  endanger  his  health  to  sit  up.  So  they 
presently  chose  Mr.  Seabrook,  and  presented  him  to  the 
Governour,  who  appro v'd  of  the  choice. 

The  next  day  the  house  met,  the  speaker  in  the  chair, 
and  the  members  were  call'd  upon  to  qualify  themselves : 
Six  did,  and  three  more  were  ready  to  do  it,  and  de- 
bates arising  about  qualifying,  the  house  adjoum'd. 

The  house  meeting  again,  a  report  was,  as  't  is  said, 
industriously  spread,  that  the  members  had  forfeited  50/. 
a  man  for  adjourning  before  they  were  qualify 'd.  Mr. 
How  and  Mr.  Wiggington  attended  in  their  places,  and 
oifer'd  to  qualify  themselves ;  but  Mr.  Bornwell  coming 
with  a  message,  the  house  v/aited  on  the  Governour ; 
who  spoke  to  this  purpose  : 

"  Gentlemen, 
"  You  are  building  on  a  wrong  foundation,  and  then 
the  superstructure  will  never  stand ;  for  you  have  dis- 
solv'd  your  selves  by  adjourning,  before  there  was  a 
competent  number  of  members  to  adjourn,  and  I  cannot 
dissolve  you  if  I  would,  you  not  being  a  house.  All 
this  I  know  very  well,  as  being  my  self  many  years  a 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  443 

member  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  England ;  and 
therefore  as  I  am  head,  I  would  advise  you  to  go  back 
no  more  to  the  house,  but  go  every  man  about  his  own 
business :  For  if  you  should  persist  in  settling  and  mak- 
ing laws,  besides  incurring  the  penalties  of  the  act,  the 
laws  would  be  of  no  force,"  &c. 

The  speaker  refus'd  to  return  to  the  chair,  and  the 
members  dispers'd.  The  Governour  and  Council  dis- 
owning the  Assembly,  Mr.  Wiggington  declar'd,  'T  was 
his  opinion  the  house  was  dissolv'd.  But  their  dissolu- 
tion was  aggravated,  by  the  pleasure  the  government 
took  in  making  them  Felo  de  se,  their  own  murderers. 

Then  another  Assembly  was  call'd,  the  choice  of 
which  was  carry'd  on  with  greater  violence  than  the 
former.  Job  How,  Esq;  was  chosen  speaker,  and  the 
members  for  the  most  part  qualify'd  themselves  accord- 
ing to  the  qualifying  act.  The  faction  had  not  then 
heard  of  the  proceedings  against  them  in  England, 
which  indeed  were  not  come  to  a  conclusion.  They 
continu'd  their  irregularities  as  if  they  were  the  most 
innocent  men  in  the  province,  and  the  only  true  patriots. 
They  pass'd  an  act  for  their  continuance  two  years  after 
the  death  of  the  present  Governour,  or  the  succession 
of  a  new  one :  The  reason  is  told  us  in  the  preamble, 
"  Whereas  the  Church  of  England  has  of  late  been  so 
happily  establish'd  among  them,  fearing  by  the  succes- 
sion of  a  new  Governour,  the  Church  may  be  either 
undermin'd,  or  wholly  subverted,  to  prevent  that  calami- 
ty befalling  them,  be  it  enacted,"  &c.  Mr.  Job  How, 
speaker  of  the  Assembly,  dying  some  time  after.  Col. 
William  Rhett  was  chosen  in  his  place.  But  what  has 
been  since  done  in  these  affairs,  we  know  not  more  than 
in  general,  that  the  two  acts  have  been  repeal'd,  and  the 
party  who  drove  things  on  with  such  fury,  have  entirely 


444  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

lost  their  credit,  and  that  the  Proprietaries  are  obhg'd 
to  them  for  the  cause  now  depending  ;  wherein  if  they 
are  cast,  the  government  of  the  province  will  be  forfeit- 
ed to  the  Crown.  They  may  thank  themselves  for  it, 
or  at  least  their  late  Palatine  the  Lord  Granville ;  for 
since  the  foregoing  pages  were  written,  that  Lord  dy'd. 

How  things  may  be  managed  now,  is  not  difficult  to 
be  foreseen,  from  the  good  intelligence  between  the 
persons  we  have  just  mention'd ;  and  the  fall  of  this  fac- 
tion is  a  terrible  example  to  all  colonies,  not  to  let  any 
prejudice  or  passion  hurry  them  on  to  do  things  which 
they  cannot  answer  to  their  superiours  in  England. 

'T  is  not  yet  known  who  will  be  Palatine  of  this  pro- 
vince, there  being  some  disputes  in  the  succession.  'T  is 
suppos'd  the  Lord  Craven  will  succeed  the  late  Lord 
Granville,  who  assign'd  his  Propriety  to  the  Duke  of 
Beaufort. 


CHAPTER  n. 

Containing  a  Geographical  Descriptio7i  of  Carolina  ;  as  also 
an  account  of  the  Climate,  Soil,  Product,  Trade,  First  Inha- 
bitants, ^c. 

'T  is  very  well  known,  that  the  province  of  Carolina  has 
been  a  long  time  divided  into  two  separate  governments, 
the  one  call'd  North  Carolina,  and  the  other  South  Caro- 
lina ;  but  the  latter  being  the  more  populous,  goes  gene- 
rally under  the  denomination  of  Carohna,  and  as  such 
we  have  treated  of  it  in  the  foregoing  pages.  The  Pro- 
prietaries of  North  Carolina  are  the  Proprietaries  of 
South  Carolina ;  tho'  the  Govemours  are  different,  in 
other  things  they  are  exactly  the  same.     And  we  shall 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  445 

put  them  together  in  the  geographical  description ;  as 
also  in  our  account  of  the  climate,  soil,  product,  trade, 
first  inhabitants,  &c. 

Carolina,  as  has  been  said,  contains  all  the  coast  of 
North  America,  between  31  and  36  degrees  of  northern 
latitude.  Its  breadth  is  not  to  be  computed.  King  Charles 
II.  having  granted  the  Proprietors  all  the  land  westward 
in  a  direct  line  from  the  above-mention'd  degrees  to  the 
South  Seas.  'T  is  in  length  three  hundred  miles.  Its  situ- 
ation is  most  convenient  for  trade,  the  coast  pleasant 
and  safe,  not  stormy,  or  frozen  in  the  winter. 

As  to  the  climate,  Mr.  Archdale  says  of  it,  "  Carolina 
is  the  northern  part  of  Florida,  viz.  from  29  degrees  to 
36  J,  and  is  indeed  the  very  centre  of  the  habitable  part 
of  the  northern  hemisphere ;  for  taking  it  to  be  habitable 
from  the  equinoctial  to  64  degrees,  the  centre  of  Caro- 
lina lies  in  about  32,  which  is  about  the  middle  of  64, 
lying  parallel  with  the  Land  of  Canaan,  and  may  be 
call'd  the  temperate  zone  comparatively,  as  not  being 
pester'd  vdth  the  violent  heats  of  the  more  southern  co- 
lonies, or  the  extremes  and  violent  colds  of  the  more 
northern  settlements.  Its  production  answers  the  title 
of  Florida,  quia  Regio  est  Florida.  Carolina  North  and 
South  is  divided  into  6  counties ;  of  which  two  are  in 
North  Carolina,  Albemarle  and  Clarendon;  and  four 
in  South,  Craven,  Berkley,  Colliton,  and  Cartarett 
counties."  ^ 

The  first  is  Albemarle  county,  to  the  north,  border- 
ing on  Virginia.  'T  is  water'd  by  Albemarle  river ; 
and  in  this  part  of  the  country  lies  the  island  Roanoke, 
where  Philip  Amidas  and  Arthur  Barlow,  whom  Sir 
Walter  Rawleigh  sent  to  Virginia,  landed.     This  county 

*  Diss,  of  Car.  p.  6. 


446  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

may  be  said  to  belong  to  Virginia,  as  New  England, 
&c.  did,  whicli  justifies  King  Charles's  grant.  When 
Carolina  was  first  settled,  Albemarle  was  more  planted 
than  any  of  the  other  counties,  and  consisted  of  near 
300  families.  But  the  plantations  upon  Ashley  river  in 
time  grew  upon  it  so  much,  that  most  of  the  planters 
here  remov'd  thither.  This  river  is  full  of  creeks  on 
both  sides  of  it,  which  for  breadth  deserve  the  name  of 
rivers,  but  they  do  not  run  far  into  the  country.  At 
Sandy  Point,  it  divides  it  self  into  two  branches,  Nora- 
toke  and  Notaway ;  and  in  the  North  Point  lives  an 
Indian  nation,  call'd  the  Mataromogs.  Next  to  Albe- 
marle is  Pantegoe  river;  between  them  is  Cape  Hatto- 
ras,  mention'd  in  the  History  of  Virginia.  Next  to  it  is 
Neuse  river.  The  Coranines,  an  Indian  nation,  inhabit 
the  country  about  Cape  Look-out. 

Next  to  Albemarle  is  Clarendon  County,  in  which  is 
the  famous  Promontory,  call'd  Cape  Fear,  at  the  mouth 
of  Clarendon  River,  call'd  also  Cape  Fear  River.  Here- 
abouts, a  colony  from  Barbadoes  formerly  settled.  The 
Indians  in  this  neighbourhood  are  reckon'd  the  most  bar- 
barous of  any  in  the  province.  The  next  river  is  nam'd 
Waterey  River,  or  Winyan,  about  25  leagues  distant 
from  Ashley  River :  'T  is  capable  of  receiving  large 
Ships,  but  inferior  to  Port  Royal,  nor  is  yet  inhabited. 
There's  another  small  river  between  this  and  Clarendon 
river  call'd  Wingon river,  and  a  little  settlement  honour'd 
with  the  name  of  Charles  Town,  but  so  thinly  inhabited, 
that 't  is  not  worth  taking  notice  of  We  come  now  to 
South  Carolina,  which  is  parted  from  North  by  Zantee 
river.     The  adjacent  Country  is  call'd 

Craven  County ;  it  is  pretty  well  inhabited  by  Eng- 
lish and  French ;  of  the  latter  there's  a  settlement  on 
Zantee  river,  and  they  were  very  instrumental  in  the  ir- 


OLDMIXON's    CAROLINA.  447 

regular  election  of  the  Unsteady  Assembly,  The  next 
river  to  Zantee  is  Sewee  river  ;  where  some  Families 
from  New  England  settled:  And  in  the  year  1706,  the 
French  landing  there,  they  were  vigorously  oppos'd  by 
this  little  colony;  who  beat  off  the  invaders,  having 
forced  them  to  leave  many  of  their  companions  dead  be- 
hind them.  This  county  sends  10  members  to  the  as- 
sembly,    We  now  enter 

Berkley  county,  passing  still  from  North  to  South, 
The  Northern  parts  of  this  shire  are  not  planted,  but  the 
Southern  are  thick  of  pla,ntations,  on  account  of  the  two 
great  rivers.  Cooper  and  Ashley.  On  the  North  coast 
there's  a  little  river  call'd  Bowal  river ;  which,  with  a 
Creek,  forms  an  island,  and  off  the  coasts  are  several 
isles,  named  the  hunting-islands,  and  Sillivant's  isle. 
Between  the  latter  and  Bowal  river,  is  a  ridge  of  hills 
which,  from  the  nature  of  the  soil  is  called  the  Sand- 
hills. The  river  Wando  waters  the  North-west  parts  of 
this  county,  and  has  several  good  plantations  upon  it, 
as  Col.  Daniel's  on  the  South  side,  and  Col.  Dearsby's 
lower  down  on  the  North.  It  runs  into  Cooper  river, 
near  the  latter,  and  they  both  unite  their  streams  with 
Ashley  river  at  Charles  Tow j\.  The  late  assembly  en- 
acted "  That  a  church  should  be  built  on  the  South-east 
of  Wando  river,  and  another  upon  the  neck  of  land,  ly- 
ing on  the  North-west  of  Wando,"  but  we  do  not  see 
that  this  act  was  obey'd. 

Charles  Town,  the  capital  of  this  province,  is  built  on 
a  neck  of  land  between  Ashley  and  Cooper  rivers,  but 
lying  most  on  Cooper  river,  having  a  creek  on  the 
North  side,  and  another  on  the  South.  It  lies  in  32 
deg.  40  min.  N.  lat.  2  leagues  from  the  sea.  This  is  the 
only  free  port  in  the  province,  which  is  a  great  discou- 
ragement to  it,  and  a  vast  injury  to  trade  :     '"T  is  for- 


448  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

tify'd  more  for  beauty  than  strength."  It  has  6  Bas- 
tions, and  a  line  all  round  it.  Towards  Cooper  river 
are  Blake's  Bastion,  Granville  Bastion,  a  Half  Moon,  and 
Craven  Bastion.  On  the  South  creek  are  the  Pallis- 
ades,  and  Ashley  Bastion ;  on  the  North  a  line ;  and 
facing"  Ashley  river  are  Colliton  Bastion,  Johnson's  co- 
ver'd  Half-Moon,  with  a  draw-bridge  in  the  line,  and 
another  to  the  Half-Moon,  Carterett  Bastion  is  next 
to  it.  If  all  these  works  are  well  made  and  can  be 
well  mann'd,  we  see  no  reason  why  they  should  not 
defend  as  well  as  beautify  the  town  ;  which  is  a  mar- 
ket to^vn,  and  thither  the  whole  product  of  the  province 
is  brought  for  sale.  Neither  is  its  trade  inconsiderable  ; 
for  it  deals  near  1000  miles  into  the  continent :  How- 
ever, 'tis  unhappy  in  a  bar,  that  admits  no  ships  above 
200  tuns.  Its  situation  is  very  inviting,  and  the  country 
about  it  agreeable  and  fruitful :  The  highways  ex- 
tremely delightful,  especially  that  call'd  Broad-way, 
which  for  three  or  four  miles  make  a  road  and  walk  "so 
pleasantly  green,  that"  *  says  my  author,  "  I  believe  no 
prince  in  Europe,  by  all  his  art,  can  make  so  pleasant  a 
sight  for  the  whole  year."  There  are  several  fair 
streets  in  the  town,  and  some  very  handsome  buildings ; 
as  Mr.  Landgrave  Smith's  house  onHhe  key,  with  a  draw- 
bridge and  wharf  before  it ;  Col.  Rhett's  on  the  key  : 
also  Mr.  Boon's,  Mr.  Loggan's,  Mr.  Schinking's,  and  10 
or  12  more,  which  deserve  to  be  taken  notice  of  As  for 
puplic  edifices,  the  church  is  most  remarkable  :  'T  is 
large  and  stately  enough;  but  the  number  of  the  profes- 
sors of  the  Anglicane  worship  encreasing  daily,  the 
auditory  begin  to  want  room,  and  another  church.  This 
is  dedicated  to  St.  Philip ;  and  by  the  act,  which  ap- 
pointed the  high   commission   court,    't  was    enacted, 

*  Archd.  p.  9. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  449 

"  That  Charles  Town,  and  the  Neck  between  Cooper 
and  Ashley  river,  as  far  up  as  the  plantation  of  John 
Bird,  Gent,  on  Cooper  river,  inclusive,  is,  and  from 
henceforth  shall  for  ever  be  a  distinct  parish,  by  the 
name  of  St.  Philip's  in  Charles  Town ;  and  the  church 
and  csemetry  then  in  this  town  were  enacted  to  be  the 
parish  church  and  church-yard  of  St.  Philip's  in  Charles 
Tov/n.  Mr.  Williams  was  the  first  Church  of  England 
minister  in  Carolina :  A  person  of  whom  since  Mr. 
Marston  has  said  so  much,  we  shall  say  no  more.  One 
Mr.  Warmel  was  sent  over  after  him.  The  Reverend 
Mr.  Samuel  Marshal  was  the  first  establish'd  minister  at 
Charles  Town ;  and  his  successor  was  Mr.  Edward  Mars- 
ton,  the  present  rector  of  St.  Philip's ;  he  came  over  seven 
years  ago.  Mr.  Kendal,  minister  of  Bermudas,  was  in- 
vited to  this  colony ;  and  Mr.  Corbin,  an  acquaintance 
of  Mr.  Marston's,  coming  by  chance,  he  got  him  settled 
in  this  province. 

The  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  sent  over 
one  Mr.  Thomas,  to  convert  the  Roman  Catholick  In- 
dians ;  but  he  did  not  obey  his  mission.'*'  On  the  contrary, 
't  was  by  his  influence  on  some  men  of  interest  here, 
that  Mr.  Kendal  was  displac'd :  Upon  which  he  went 
distracted. 

Mr.  Warmell  was  also  us'd  so  ill  by  him,  that  he 
also  dy'd  distracted;  and  Mr.  Corbin  was  forc'd  to 
leave  the  colony,  by  the  causeless  quarrels  of  the  in- 
habitants ;  in  which  the  dissenters  had  the  least  hand. 
'T  was  by  their  procurement  that  the  150/.  a  year,  &c. 
was  settled  on  the  orthodox  minister  of  this  church.  The 
church  stands  near  the  cover'd  Half  Moon. 

*  See  Mr.  Marston's  Letter  to  Dr.  Stanhope,  Part  II.  of  Case  of 
Dissens,  p,  5S- 

57 


450  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

There  's  a  publick  library  in  this  town,  and  a  free- 
school  has  been  long  talk'cl  of:  Whether  founded  or 
not,  we  have  not  learn'd.  The  library  is  kept  by  the 
minister  for  the  time  being.  It  owes  its  rise  to  Dr. 
Thomas  Bray  ;  as  do  most  of  the  American  libraries, 
for  which  he  zealously  solicited  contributions  in  Eng- 
land. 

Not  far  off,  by  Cartarett  Bastion,  is  the  Presbyte- 
rian meeting-house;  of  which  Mr.  Archibald  Stobe  is 
minister.  Between  Colliton  and  Ashley  Bastion  is  the 
Anabaptist  Meeting-house,  Mr.  William  Screven  min- 
ister. The  French  church  is  in  the  chief  street :  Be- 
sides which  there  is  a  Quakers  meeting-house,  in  the 
suburbs  of  it,  properly  so  call'd,  on  the  other  side  of 
the  draw-bridge,  in  the  Half  Moon,  toward  Ashley 
river. 

To  the  southward  is  the  watch-house ;  and  the  most 
noted  plantations  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Charles 
Town,  are  Ferguson's  Underwood's,  Gilbertson  and 
Garnett's. 

We  may  see  by  this  description  that  the  town  is  full 
of  dissenters,  and  would  flourish  more,  were  not  the  in- 
habitants uneasy  under  the  government  there.  For  one 
may  imagine  they  who  fled  from  England,  to  avoid  per- 
secution, cannot  be  well  pleas'd  to  meet  with  it  in  Ame- 
rica ;  or  to  cross  the  Atlantick,  to  live  under  oppression 
abroad,  while  their  relations  and  friends  at  home  enjoy 
all  the  blessings  of  a  peaceful  and  gentle  administra- 
tion. 

There  are  at  least  250  families  in  this  town,  most  of 
which  are  numerous,  and  many  of  them  have  10  or  12 
children  in  each;  in  the  w^hole  amounting  to  about  3000 
souls. 

In  Charles  Town  the  Governour  generally  resides, 


OLDMIXON  S  CAROLINA.  451 

the  Assembly  sit,  the  courts  of  judicature  are  held,  the 
publick  ojflices  are  kept,  and  the  business  of  the  province 
is  transacted. 

The  heck  of  land  between  Cooper  and  Ashley  rivers 
is  about  4  miles  over ;  and  the  banks  of  both  of  these 
are  well  planted.  The  chief  settlements  on  Cooper 
river  are  Mathew's,  Green's,  Gray's,  Starkey's,  Grim- 
boll's  Dickeson's,  and  Izard's ;  the  latter  on  Turkey 
Creek.  About  a  mile  from  thence  is  the  mouth  of 
Goose-Creek,  which  is  also  very  well  planted.  Here 
Mr.  William  Corbm  above-mention'd  liv'd,  and  had  a 
cono-reofation  of  Church  of  England  men :  and  one  of 
the  churches  propos'd  to  be  built  by  the  Assembly  which 
pass'd  the  two  fatal  acts  we  have  spoken  of,  was  to  be 
erected. 

Mr.  Thomas,  a  missionary  sent  by  the  Society  be- 
fore-mention'd,  settled  here,  by  Capt.  How's  and  Col. 
Moor's  solicitations ;  as  did  Mr.  Stackhouse,  and  the 
Reverend  Dr.  Lejau. 

Mr.  Marston  in  his  letter  to  the  Reverend  Dr.  >Stan- 
hope,  accuses  Mr.  Thomas  of  being  the  occasion  of  the 
ill  usage  that  made  Mr.  Kendal  run  distracted.  He 
complains  he  never  had  university  education,  saying, 
"  That  the  best  service  your  society  can  do  this  young 
man,  Mr.  Thomas,  is,  to  maintain  him  a  few  years  at 
one  of  our  universities,  where  he  may  better  learn  the 
principles  and  government  of  the  Church  of  England, 
&c.  and  some  other  useful  learning,  which  I  am  afraid 
he  wants." 

Sir  John  Yeaman's,  and  Mr.  Landgrave  Bellenger's 
plantations  are  here ;  as  also  Col.  Gibb's,  Mr.  Schink- 
ing's,  and  Colliton's  company.  Between  this  and  Back 
river  are  Col.  Moor's  and  Col.  Quarry's  plantations. 

Back  river  falls  in  Cooper  river,  about  2  miles  above 


452  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

Goose-Creek,  and  its  western  branch  a  little  higher. 
Here  another  church  was  propos'd  to  be  built.  The 
most  noted  plantations  are  Capt.  Comming's,  and  Sir 
Nathaniel  Johnson's,  bordering  on  the  barony  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Colliton. 

"We  must  now  take  a  view  of  Ashley  river,  where 
we  first  meet  with  Mr.  Landgrave  West's  plantation  on 
one  side,  and  Col.  Gibb's  on  the  other.  Mr.  Baden's 
over  against  Col.  Godfrey's ;  Mr.  Simond's  opposite  to 
Dr.  Trevilhan's;  and  Mr.  Peiidarvis's  to  Mr.  West's, 
Mr.  Colhton's  to  Mr.  Marshal's,  and  others  almost  con- 
tiguous. 

This  part  of  the  country  belongs  to  the  Lord  Shaftes- 
bury. On  the  south-west  of  Ashley  river  is  the  great 
Savana.  One  of  the  churches  intended  to  be  erected 
in  this  county,  was  to  have  been  built  on  Ashley  river. 

Dorchester  is  in  this  shire,  bordering  on  Colliton 
county.  'T  is  a  smalltown,  containing  about  350  souls. 
There  's  a  meetiug-house  belonging  to  the  independants, 
the  pastor  of  which  is  Mr.  John  Lord.  Next  to  it  is 
Stono  river,  which  divides  Berkley  from  Colhton  coun- 
ty, to  which  we  must  now  proceed,  observing  only 
that  Berkley  county  sends  ten  members  to  the  Assem- 
bly.    The  same  does 

Colliton  county;  which  Stono  river  waters,  and  is 
join'd  by  a  cut,  near  Mr.  Blake's  plantation,  to  Wad  moo- 
law  river.  The  north-east  parts  of  this  division  of  the 
province  is  full  of  Indian  settlements ;  and  the  Stono 
and  other  rivers,  form  an  island,  call'd  Boone's  Island, 
a  little  below  Charles  Town,  which  is  well  planted  and 
inhabited.  The  two  chief  rivers  in  this  county  are 
North  Edistow,  and  South  Edistow.  At  the  mouth 
of  the  latter  is  Col.  Paul  GrimboU's  plantation; 
and   for   two    or   three    miles   up  the  river,  the  plan- 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  453 

tations  are  thick  on  both  .sides,  as  they  continue  for 
three  or  four  miles  hig-her  on  the  north  side,  and  branch- 
ing  there,  the  river  meets  with  the  North  Edistow. 

Two  miles  higher  is  Wilton,  by  some  call'd  New  Lon- 
don, a  little  town,  consisting  of  about  80  houses. 
Landgrave  Moreton,  Mr.  Blake,  Mr.  Boon,  Landgrave 
Axtel,  and  other  considerable  planters,  have  settlements 
in  this  neighbourhood,  which  is  Sir  John  CoUiton's  pre- 
cinct. 

A  church  was  to  have  been  built  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Stono,  had  that  project  gone  on,  and  the  act  taken 
effect.  This  county  has  200  freeholders,  that  vote  in 
election  for  Parliament  men.  There  's  an  Orthodox 
church  in  this  precinct,  of  which  Mr.  Williams  is  min- 
ister. 

Carterett  county  is  not  yet  inhabited,  but  is  generally 
esteem'd  to  be  the  most  fruitful  and  pleasant  part  of  the 
province  ;  this  and  Colhton  county  are  distinguish'd  from 
the  other  by  the  name  of  the  Southward.  In  it  is  the 
great  river  Cambage,  which  joining  with  the  river  May, 
forms  with  the  sea  Island  Edelano. 

The  country  upon  the  river  May  w^as  inhabited  by 
the  Westoes,  an  Indian  nation  already  mention'd. 
There's  a  pleasant  lake  and  valley  in  it ;  and  the  first 
English  that  came  to  Carolina,  thought  of  settling  here- 
abouts; but  the  Indians  advis'd  them  to  the  contrary, 
because  the  harbour  of  Port  Royal  was  the  finest  in 
Florida,  and  would  have  tempted  the  Spaniards  to  dis- 
turb them. 

The  Scots  settled  here,  under  the  Lord  Cardross,  but 
were  soon  forc'd  to  abandon  their  settlements,  as  has 
been  elsewhere  hinted.  Port  Royal  river  lies  20  leagues 
from  Ashley  river,  to  the  south,  in  31  degrees,  45  min- 
utes, north  latitude.     It  has  a  bold  entrance,    17  foot 


454  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

low  water  on  the  bar.  The  harbour  is  large,  commo- 
dious, and  safe  for  shipping,  and  runs  into  a  fine  fruitful 
country,  preferable  to  the  other  parts  of  Carohna.  It 
spends  its  self,  by  various  branches,  into  other  large 
rivers.  This  port  is  not  200  miles  from  Augustino,  and 
would  be  a  great  curb  to  the  Spaniards  there,  where 
their  settlement  is  not  very  considerable. 

Next  to  it  is  the  river  of  May,  and  then  San  Mattseo  ; 
which  is  the  last  of  any  note  in  the  English  Florida,  a 
name  this  province  highly  deserves. 

The  air  of  this  country  is  healthy,  and  soil  fruitful,^ 
of  a  sandy  mould,  which  near  the  sea  appears  ten  times 
more  barren  than  it  proves  to  be.  There's  a  vast  quan- 
tity of  vines  in  many  parts  on  the  coasts,  bearing  abun- 
dance of  grapes,  where  one  would  w^onder  they  should 
get  nourishment.  Within  land  the  soil  is  more  mix'd 
with  a  blackish  mould,  and  its  foundation  generally  clay, 
good  for  bricks. 

Its  products  are  the  chief  trade  of  the  inhabitants, 
who  send  it  abroad,  according  as  the  market  offers ; 
and  't  is  in  demand  in  America  or  Europe.  But  the 
chief  commerce  from  hence  is  to  Jamaica,  Barbadoes. 
and  the  Leward  Islands.  Yet  their  trade  to  England 
is  vervmuch  encreas'd;  for  notwithstanding'  all  the  dis- 
couragements  the  people  lie  under,  seventeen  ships 
came  last  year,  laden  from  Carolina,  with  rice,  skins, 
pitch,  and  tar,  in  the  Virginia  fleet,  besides  stragling 
ships. 

Its  principal  commodities  are  provisions,  as  beef,  pork, 
corn,  pease,  butter,  tallow,  hides,  tann'd  leather,  hogs- 
head and  barrel  staves,  hoops,  cotton,  silk ;  besides 
what  they  send  for  England.     Their  timber  trees,  fruit 

*  Arch.  p.  8. 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  455 

trees,  plants,  and  animals,  are  much  the  same  with  those 
in  Virginia ;  in  which  history  may  be  seen  a  large  ac- 
count of  them:  But  since  Mr.  Archdale  has  been  a  little 
particular  in  his,  and  has  added  a  short  description  of 
the  natives,  &c.  w^e  will  communicate  what  he  says  to 
the  reader. 

"  'T  is  beautify'd  with  odoriferous  woods,  green  all 
the  year ;  as  pine,  cedar,  and  cypress.  'T  is  naturally 
fertile,  and  easy  to  manure.  Were  the  inhabitants  in- 
dustrious, riches  would  flow  in  upon  them ;  for  I  am 
satisfy'd,  a  person  with  500/.  discreely  laid  out  in  Eng- 
land, and  again  prudently  manag'd  in  Carolina,  shall  in 
a  few  years  live  in  as  much  plenty,  as  a  man  of  300/.  a 
year  in  England  ;  and  if  he  continues  careful,  not  covet- 
ous, shall  increase  to  great  riches,  as  many  there  are 
already  witnesses,  and  many  more  might  have  been,  if 
luxury  and  intemperance  had  not  ended  their  days. 

"  As  to  the  air,  't  is  always  serene,  and  agreeable  to 
any  constitutions,  as  the  first  planters  experienc'd.  There 
is  seldom  any  raging  sickness,  but  what  is  brought  from 
the  southern  colonies ;  as  the  late  sickness  was,  which 
rag'd  A.  D.  1706.  and  carry 'd  off  abundance  of  peo- 
ple in  Charles  Town,  and  other  places. 

"  Intemperance  also  has  occasion'd  some  distempers. 
AVhat  may  properly  be  said  to  belong  to  the  country  is, 
to  have  some  gentle  touches  of  agues  and  fevers  in  July 
and  August,  especially  to  new  comers.  It  has  a  winter 
season,  to  beget  a  new  spring.  I  was  there,"  adds 
my  author,  "  at  twice,  five  years,  and  had  no  sickness, 
but  what  I  got  by  a  careless  violent  cold ;  and  indeed  I 
perceiv'd  that  the  fevers  and  agues  were  generally  gotten 
by  carelessness  in  cloathing,  or  intemperance. 

"Every  thing  generally  grows  there  that  will  grow  in 
any  part  of  Europe,  their  being  already  many  sorts  of 


456  oldmixon's  Carolina. 

fruits,  as  apples,  pears,  apricocks,  nectarines,  &c. 
Thej  that  once  tast  of  thorn,  will  despise  the  watrj 
washy  tast  of  those  in  England.  There's  such 
plenty  of  them,  that  they  are  given  to  the  hogs.  In 
4  or  5  years  they  come  from  a  stone  to  be  bearing 
trees. 

'  All  sorts  of  grain  thrive  in  Carolina,  as  wheat, 
barley,  peas,  &c.  And  I  have  measur'd  some  wheat- 
ears  7  or  8  of  our  inches  long.  It  produces  the  best 
rice  in  the  knowm  world,  which  is  a  good  commodity 
for  returns  home ;  as  is  also  pitch,  tar,  buck,  doe, 
bear  skins,  and  furs,  though  the  last  not  so  good  as  the 
Northern  colonies. 

"It  has  already  such  plenty  of  provisions,  that  it  in 
a  great  measure  furnishes  Barbadoes,  Jamaica,  &c. 
There  are  vast  numbers  of  wild  ducks,  geese,  teal ; 
and  the  sea  and  rivers  abound  in  fish.  That  which 
makes  provisions  so  cheap,  is  the  shortness  of  the 
winter :  For  having  no  need  to  mow  for  winter  fod- 
der, they  can  apply  their  hands  in  raising  other  commo- 
dities. 

"  The  rivers  are  found  to  be  more  navigable  than 
't  was  at  first  believed  ;  and  t'  was  then  prudently  con- 
triv'd,  not  to  settle  on  the  most  navigable ;  but  on 
Ashley  and  Cooper  river,  those  entrances  are  not  so 
bold  as  the  others ;  so  that  enemies  and  pirates  have 
been  dishearten'd  in  their  designs  to  disturb  that  settle- 
ment. 

"  The  new  settlers  have  now  great  advantages  over 
the  first  planters,  since  they  can  be  supply'd  with  stocks 
of  cattle  and  corn  at  reasonable  rates." 

I  shall  conclude  this  account  of  Carolina,  with  an 
extract  of  a  letter  from  thence,  from  a  person  of  credit ; 


OLDMIXON  S  CAROLINA.  457 

in  whose  words  I  communicate  it  to  the  pubhck  ;     He 
speaks  of  the  Southward. 

"  The  many  lakes  we  have  up  and  down  breed  a  mul- 
titude of  geese,  and  other  water-fowl.  All  along  Port- 
Royal  river,  and  in  all  this  part  of  Carolina,  the  air 
is  so  temperate,  and  the  seasons  of  the  year  so  regular, 
that  there's  no  excess  of  heat  or  cold,  nor  any  trouble- 
some variety  of  weather :  For  tho'  there  is  every  year 
a  kind  of  winter,  yet  it  is  both  shorter  and  milder  than 
that  at  Ashley  or  Cooper  river ;  and  passes  over  insen- 
sibly, as  if  there  was  no  winter  at  all.  This  sweet  tem- 
perature of  air,  causes  the  banks  of  this  river  to  be 
cover'd  with  various  kinds  of  lovely  trees  ;  which  being 
perpetually  green,  present  a  thousand  landskips  to  the 
eye,  so  fine,  and  so  diversify'd,  that  the  sight  is  entire- 
ly charm'd  with  them.  The  ground  is  very  low  in  most 
places  near  the  river ;  but  rises  gradually,  at  a  distance, 
with  little  hills  adjoining  to  fruitful  plains,  all  cover'd 
with  flowers,  without  so  much  as  a  tree  to  interrupt  the 
prospect.  Beyond  these  are  beautiful  vales,  cloath'd 
with  green  herbs,  and  a  continual  verdure,  caus'd  by 
the  refreshing  rivulets  that  run  through  them.  There 
are  a  great  many  thickets,  which  produce  abundance  of 
simples.  The  Indians  make  use  of  them  for  the  cure  of 
their  diseases.  There  are  also  sarsaparilla,  cassia 
trees,  gumms,  and  rosin,  very  good  for  wounds  and 
bruises;  and  such  a  prodigious  quantity  of  honey, 
which  the  bees  make  every  where,  that  the  store  of  it  is 
not  to  be  exhausted.  0  f  this  they  make  excellent  spirits, 
and  mead  as  good  as  malaga  sack.  The  bees  swarm  five 
or  six  times.  There's  a  kind  of  tree,  from  which  there  runs 
an  oil  of  extraordinary  virtue,  for  the  curing  wounds. 
And  another  tree,  which  yields  a  balm,  thought  to  be 
scarcely  inferior  to  that  of  Mecca." 

58 


458  oldmixon's  Carolina, 

Silk  is  come  to  a  great  importance  here,  some  fami- 
lies making  40  or  50  pound  a  year,  and  their  plantation 
work  not  neglected,  their  little  Negro  children  being 
serviceable  m  feeding  the  silk-worms.  And  we  must 
do  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson  the  justice,  to  own  he  has 
been  the  principal  promoter  of  this  improvement,  as  also 
of  the  vineyards.  He  makes  yearly  3  or  400Z.  in  silk 
only. 

But  'tis  objected.  Since  the  climate  is  so  proper, 
since  grapes  are  so  plentiful,  and  the  wine  they  make  so 
good,  why  is  there  not  more  of  it  ?  why  do  we  not  see 
some  of  it? 

To  which  I  answer,  That  the  inhabitants  either 
think  they  can  turn  their  hands  to  a  more  profitable  cul- 
ture, or  impose  upon  us  in  their  reports ;  for  I  would 
not  think  them  so  weak,  as  to  neglect  making  good 
wine,  and  enough  of  it,  if  they  could,  and  thought  it 
worth  their  while. 

They  manufacture  their  silk  with  wool,  and  make 
druggets.  The  French  protestants  have  set  up  a  linnen 
manufacture  ;  and  good  romalls  are  made  here. 

A  French  dancing-master  settling  in  Craven  county, 
taught  the  Indians  country-dances,  to  play  on  the  flute 
and  hautboit,  and  got  a  good  estate  ;  for  it  seems  the 
barbarians  encourag'd  him  with  the  same  extravagance, 
as  we  do  the  dancers,  singers,  and  fidlers,  his  country- 
men. 

Tho'  we  have  said  enough  of  the  Virginian  Indians, 
who  are  much  the  same  with  the  Carolinian ;  yet  since 
we  find  Mr.  Archdale  speaks  of  them  in  particular,  let 
the  reader  see  what  he  has  said  of  'em. 

"  Providence  was  visible  in  thinning  the  Indians,  to 
make  room  for  the  English.  There  were  two  potent 
nations,  the  Westoes  and  Sarannas,  who  broke  out  into 


OLDMIXON's  CAROLINA.  459 

an  unusual  civil  war  before  the  English  arriv'd ;  and 
from  many  thousands  reduc'd  themselves  to  a  small 
number.  The  most  cruel  of  them,  the  Westoes,  were 
driven  out  of  the  province ;  and  the  Sarannas  continu'd 
good  friends,  and  useful  neighbours  to  the  English.  It 
jpleas'd  God  also  to  send  unusual  sicknesses  among 
them ;  as  the  small-pox,  &c.  The  Pemhco  Indians  in 
North  Carolina,  were  lately  swept  away  by  a  pesti- 
lence ;  and  the  Caranine,  by  war.  The  natives  are 
somewhat  tawny,  occasion'd  chiefly  by  oiling  their 
skins,  and  by  the  naked  rays  of  the  sun.  They  are  ge- 
nerally streight  body'd,  comely  in  person,  quick  of 
apprehension,  and  great  hunters  ;  by  which  they  are  not 
only  very  serviceable,  by  killing  deer,  to  procure  skins 
for  trade  with  us  ;  but  those  that  live  in  country  planta- 
tions, procure  of  them  the  whole  deer's  flesh,  and 
they  will  bring  it  many  miles  for  the  value  of  about 
6d.  and  a  wild  turkey  of  40  pound  for  the  value  of 
2d:' 

They  have  learn'd  one  of  their  worst  vices  of  the 
English,  which  is,  drinking ;  and  that  occasions  quarrels 
among  them,  one  of  which  we  have  mention'd  in  the 
time  of  Mr.  Archdale's  government.  As  to  what  he 
would  excite  us,  to  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  't  is 
a  project  which,  like  a  great  many  other  very  good  ones, 
we  rather  wish  than  hope  to  see  eflected. 

Mr.  Thomas  was  sent  to  instruct  the  Yammosees  in 
the  Christian  religion,  and  had  an  allowance  of  50/.  a 
year  from  the  before-mention'd  society,  besides  other 
allowances :     But   finding   it  an  improper  season,   his 

mission  is  respited ;  the  reason  is,  those  Indians  revolted 
to  the  English  from  the  Spaniards  and  not  being  willing 
to  embrace  Christianity,  't  is  fear'd  they  would  return  to 
their  old  confederates,  if  any  means  were  made  use  of  to 
that  purpose. 


460 


OLDMIXON  S  CAROLINA. 


This  country  is  in  a  very  flourishing  condition ;  the 
families  are  very  large,  in  some  are  10  or  12  children; 
and  the  number  of  souls  in  all  is  computed  to  be  12000. 
The  children  are  set  to  work  at  8  years  old.  The  ordi- 
nary v7omen  take  care  of  cows,  hogs,  and  other  small 
cattle,  make  butter  and  cheese,  spin  cotton  and  flax, 
help  to  sow  and  reap  com,  wind  silk  from  the  worms, 
gather  fruit,  and  look  after  the  house.  'T  is  pity  this 
people  should  not  be  easy  in  their  government ;  for  all 
their  industry,  all  the  advantages  of  the  climate,  soil, 
and  situation  for  trade,  will  be  useless  to  them,  if  they 
live  under  oppression ;  and  Pensylvania  will  have  no 
occasion  to  complain,  that  she  tempts  away  her  inhabit- 
ants ;  being  a  new  beauty,  a  fairer,  and  consequently  a 
powerful  rival. 

We  shall  conclude  this  history  and  account  of  Caroli- 
na, with  a  list  of  the  present  proprietaries,  and  chief  offi- 
■cers  of  this  colony. 

William  Lord  Craven, 
Henry  Duke  of  Beaufort, 
The   Honourable  Maurice 

Ashley,  Esq;  Brother  to 

the  Earl  of  Shaftsbury, 
John  Lord  Cartarett, 
Sir  John  Colliton,  Baronet, 
Joseph  Blake,  Esq ; 
John  Archdale,  Esq; 
Nicholas  Trott,  Esq ; 

Sir  Nath.  Johnson,  Govemour,  sallary  200/.  a  year. 

Col.  James  Moor, 
Col.  Thomas  Broughton, 
Col.  Rob.  Gibbs, 
Mr.  Nich.  Trott, 

Mr. Ward, 

Mr.  Hen.  Noble, 


)>  Proprietaries. 


>►  Counsellors. 


OLDMIXON's    CAROLINA.  461 

Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  William  Rhett,  Esq. 

The  Secretary, Ward,  Esq ;  his  salary  60/.  a  year. 

The  Chief  Justice,  Mr.  Trott,  60/. 
The  Judge  of  the  Admiralty-Court,  Col.  James  Moor, 
40/. 

Surveyor  General, How,  Esq;  40/. 

Attorney  General  Col.  James  Moor,  60/. 

Receiver  General,  the  same,  60/. 

Naval  Officer,  Mr.  Trott,  40/. 

Collector  of  the  Customs,  Col.  Thomas  Broughton. 

Agent  for  the  Colony  in  England,  Mr.  Joseph  Boone. 


SHORT    DESCRIPTION 


OP    THE 


PROVINCE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA: 


WITH  AN  ACCOUNT  OP 


THE  AIR,   WEATHER,  AND  DISEASES, 


AT 


CHARLESTOWN, 


WRITTEN   IN    THE    YEAR    1763. 


LONDON: 
Printed  for  John  Hinton,  at  the  King's  Arms,  in  Paternoster  Row. 

MDCCLXX. 


ADYERTISEMENT. 

The  following  short  account  of  South  Carolina  was  first  written  for 
the  information  and  private  use  of  a  gentleman  in  England,  without  any 
intention  of  its  being  ever  exposed  to  the  public  view ;  and  that  it  is  now 
published  is  not  owing  to  any  value  the  author  puts  upon  it,  who  is  very 
sensible  of  its  imperfections,  but  to  the  desires  of  some,  who  imagine,  that 
the  medical  part  may  be  of  use  to  those  who  may  become  settlers  in  our 
new  colonies  of  East  and  West  Florida,  where  the  climate  and  soil  much 
resemble  South  Carolina;  consequently  the  diseases,  and  the  cure  of 
them,  will  be  little  different.  If  it  ever  proves  of  any  use  to  them,  the 
writer,  who  is  an  author  with  reluctance,  will  think  himself  sufficiently 
repaid  for  his  trouble ;  and,  if  the  critics  will  forgive  this  first  essay,  he 
promises  never  to  trespass  this  way  again,  being  determined, 

"  Cum  tot  ubique 
Libris  occurras,  peiituroe  parcere  Chartce." 


ACCOUNT 


OF    THE 


SITUATION,  AIR,  WEATHER,  AND  DISEASES 


OF 


SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Of  its  Situation,  Soil,  and  some  of  its  Natural  Productions. 

South- Carolina  is  part  of  that  extensive  country  on  the 
'FidiSierxi'^h.oYQ  of  North- America,  named  by  the  Spaniards 
Florida,  and  by  the  English,  in  the  days  oi  Qu.Geii  Eliza- 
beth, Virginia. 

By  the  late  regulation  of  the  south  provinces,  it  is 
bounded  on  the  south  and  west  by  the  river  Savannah, 
whose  mouth  is  in  latitude  31  deg.  52  min.  north  ;  and 
is  divided  from  North-Carolina  by  a  little  river,  about 
thirty  miles  south  of  Cape-Fear,  lat.  35,  towards  the 
sea  ;  and  more  to  the  westward^  by  a  line  whose  situation 
is  not  yet  exactly  fixed.  It  formerly  extended  south  to 
the  29th  degree,  including  the  province  of  Georgia, 
whose  north  bounds,  following  the  course  of  the  Sava7i- 
nah  river,  reduces  this  province  to  a  small  compass,  by 
meeting   the  line,  that,  when  fixed,  will  divide  the  two 

m 


466  A  DESCRIPTIOxV  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Carolina's,  with  an  acute  angle,  near  the  Cherokee  Indian 
town  of  Keowee,  about  three  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
distant  from  Charles-Town.  The  French  made  a  Settle- 
ment here,  which  had  a  short  duration,  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  IX,  under  their  admiral  Coligni,  who  named  the 
country  La  Caroline,  iu  honour  of  that  prince.  It  was  set 
tied  by  the  English  in  the  year  1663,  by  a  grant  from  king 
Charles  the  Second,  after  whom  it  is  named,  to  the  Earl 
of  Clarendon  and  others  :  A  plan  for  the  Government 
of  it  was  designed  by  that  great  statesman  ^w//io?zy 
Ashley  Cooper,  Earl  of  Shafteshury  ;  and  digested  into 
form  by  the  excellent  Mr.  Locke ;  whence  great  expecta 
tions  were  raised:  but,  however  specious  their  Plan 
might  appear,  experience  soon  shewed  its  impracti- 
cability, and  pointed  out  the  necessity  of  getting  rid  of  it 
by  putting  the  province  into  the  hands  and  under  the 
protection  of  YJmgGeorge  the  Second."^  This  remedj^has 
answered  all  that  the  most  sanguine  could  have  expected 
from  it;  it  has  long  thrown  off  that  drooping  and 
languishing  state  its  first  fine-spun  constitution  kept  it 
under ;  and  it  is  now  become  one  of  the  most  opulent 
and  thrivinof  among-  the  British  Colonies. 

The  surface  of  the  earth  jiere,  and  in  all  the  maritime 
parts  of  iVor//i  ^wimca,  exhibits  a  lively  representation 
of  the  state  of  nature,  as  described  by  Sir  William  Temple, 
in  his  miscellanies  ;  it  is  almost  certain,  by  the  apj)ear- 
ance  the  level  surface  gives,  that  the  sea  was  once 
possessed  of  this  region,  and,  upon  its  sub.siding,  left 
the  different  strata  to  consolidate,  according  to  the  rules 
of    specific   gravity ;    and   this  I   am  confirmed  in  by 

*  This  change  was  promoted  by  the  inability  of  the  lords  proprietors 
to  protect  their  colony  from  the  revenues  arising  out  of  their  rents,  and 
their  reluctance  to  advance  any  money  out  of  tlieir  estates  in  England 
towards  the  expfence. 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  467 

examining  wells,  pits,  and  surfaces  of  bluffs,  where 
either  rivers  or  speets  of  rain  have  worn  them  down 
perpendicularly.  Without  doubt,  all  over  was  left  a  plain 
extent,  upon  the  first  recess  of  the  sea  ;  but,  the  fountains 
taking  their  rise  from  the  mountains,  in  seeking  their 
way  towards  the  ocean,  wherever  they  met  with  either 
resistance  or  cavity  they  bedded,  and  thereby  formed 
the  immense  number  of  morasses,  savannahs,  cane  and 
cypress  galls,  that  are  every-where  interspersed  in  the 
country,  and  thereafter  forced  their  channels  to  the  sea. 
This  low,  flat  and  moist  surface  extends  sixty  or 
seventy  miles  back  from  the  ocean ;  about  this  distance 
the  ground  begins  to  rise,  and  little  hills  appear 
gradually  above  one  another,  till  they  reach  their  majestic 
summit  called  the  Blue  Mountain,  the  pride  of  the  Apa- 
lachian  hills,  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  west  of 
the  Atlantic  sea :  here, 

"the  mournful  larch 
Its  drooping  foliage  hangs  ;  the  stately  pines 
Their  boughs  together  mix'd,  in  close  array, 
(Wedg'd  like  the  ancient  phalanx)  from  the  axe 
Rear  their  tall  heads  secure,  on  craggy  cliffs 
Rooted,  or  over  precipices  dread, 
Waving  their  umbrage  broad."  JCeate. 

The  soil  is  known  and  distinguished  by  its  natural 
productions,  and  may  be  divided  into  fom-  kinds,  viz. 
pine-land,  oak-land,  swamps,  and  marshes. 

The  pine-land  is  by  far  of  the  greatest  extent ;  near 
the  sea,  the  soil  is  of  a  dry  whitish  sand,  producing  a 
great  variety  of  shrubs,  and  a  coarse  kind  of  grass,  that 
cattle  are  not  fond  of  eating  ;  though  here  and  there  is  a 
little  of  a  better  kind,  especially  in  the  meadows  called 
savannahs ;  it  naturally  bears   two   kinds  of  fruit,  viz. 


468       A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

whortleberries,  much  like  those  of  EnglaJid;  and 
chinquopin  nuts  a  kind  of  dwarf  chesnut,  about  the  size 
of  an  acorn;  it  likewise  bears  peaches  well,  and  the 
white  mulberry,  which  serves  to  feed  silk-worms  ;  the 
black  mulberry  is  about  the  size  of  a  black  cherry,  and 
has  much  the  same  flavour. 

The  Oakland  commonly  lies  innarow  streaks,  between 
pineland  and  swamps,  creeks  or  rivers ;  the  soil  is  a 
blackish  sand,  producing  several  kinds  of  oak,  bay, 
laurel,  ash,  walnut,  gum-tree,  dog-tree,  hickory,  &c.  On 
the  choicest  part  of  the  land  grown  parfimon  trees,  a  few 
black  mulberry  and  American  cherry  trees ;  wild  grapes 
grow  on  this  land,  and  are  of  two  sorts,  both  red  ;  viz. 
fox-grapes,  about  the  size  of  a  small  cherry  ;  and  cluster- 
grapes,  about  the  bigness  of  a  white  currant ;  this  land 
is  justly  esteemed  the  most  valuable  for  corn  or  indigo. 

A  swamp  is  any  low,  watery  place,  that  is  covered 
with  trees  or  canes ;  there  are  three  kinds  of  them, 
cypress,  river,  and  cane  swamps  :  they  are  called  the 
golden  mines  of  Carolina  ;  from  them  all  our  rice  is  pro- 
duced, consequently  they  are  the  source  of  infinite 
wealth,  and  will  always  reward  the  industrious  and 
persevering  planter. 

Marshes  are  of  tw^o  sorts,  hard  and  soft ;  they  abound 
much  on  the  sea  Islands  :  the  soft  and  salt  marshes  have 
as  yet  been  of  little  use,  on  account  of  the  great  expence 
of  damming  out  the  salt-water  ;  the  hard  produce  a  grass 
that  is  esteemed  good  feeding  for  horses. 

The  Apalachian  mountains  are  said  to  have  a  large 
share  of  the  mineral  kingdom  ;  I  have  seen  several 
pieces  of  copper,  lead,  and  sulphur  ores,  brought  from 
thence  :  I  believe,  from  accounts  I  have  received,  that 
copper  may  be  had  in  great  plenty;  but  the  high  price 
of  labour,  with  the  certain  and  easy  livelihood  obtained 


A  DESCRIPRION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  469 

here  by  other  means,  has  hitherto  rendered  those 
subterranean  riches  useless  and  neglected.  These  moun- 
tains are  more  extensive  than  the  Alps  and  Apennine 
added  together  ;  they  stretch  from  the  back  of  the  pro- 
vinces of  New-England  almost  to  the  cape  of  Florida,  a 
course  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred  miles  : 

"  In  this  wild  scene  of  Nature's  true  sublime, 

What  prospects  rise  !     Rocks  above  rocks  appear, 

Mix  with  the  incumbent  clouds,  and  laugh  to  scorn 

All  tlie  proud  boasts  of  art :  in  purest  snow 

Some  mantled,  others  their  emjrmous  backs 

Heave  high,  with  forests  crown'd  ;  nor,  midst  the  view, 

Are  wanting  those  who  their  insulting  heads 

Uprear,  barren  and  bleak,  as  in  contempt 

Of  vegetative  la>vs. 

"  Deep  within  their  bowels  lies 
The  marble  various-vein'd  ;  and  the  rich  ore 
Winds  its  slow  growth  :  nor  here  unfrequent  found 
The  crystal,  catching  from  its  mineral  bed 
A  changeful  tinge,  yellow,  or  red,  or  green, 
Azure,  or  violet,  wanting  strength  alone 
To  be  the  gem  it  mimics. — On  these  heights 
Blooms  many  a  modest  flow' ret,  scarcely  known 
Even  to  the  vale  beneath,  tho'  sweet  as  those, 
That,  when  proud  Home  was  mistress  of  the  world, 
Adorn'd  the  shrines  of  Flora  ;  many  a  shrub 
Of  sovereign  use,  and  medicinal  herb, 
Spread  humbly  forth  their  leaves,  by  careless  foot 
Of  savage  trampled,  till  some  chance  disclose 
Their  latent  virtues."  Keate. 

These  mountains  give  rise  to  many  large  and  navigable 
rivers.  Those  that  run  from  the  east  side  all  empty 
themselves  into  the  Atlantic  ocean  ;  those  that  run  from 
the  west  side  mix  their  streams  with  the  rivers  St. 
Laurence  and  Mississippi,  or  the  Canada  lakes  : 

"  And,  as  they  glide  along,  survey  their  banks 
Circled  with  mountains,  that  appear  to  bend 
Beneath  the  woods  they  bear." 


470  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

About  two  hundred  miles  north-west  of  Charles-town, 
I  obssrv^ed  very  large  rocks  of  grey  marble,  variegated 
with  red  or  blue  veins  ;  the  part  above  ground  generally 
appeared  coarse ;  thatunder  ground  is  no  doubt  of  a  better 
quality.  About  this  place  is  great  plenty  of  the  squamous 
fissile  species  of  stone,  called  by  the  naturalists  Lapis 
S'pecularis,  or  Talc  ;  it  is  like  so  many  sheets  of  paper  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  of  a  very  different  shape  and 
size  ;  is  extremely  bright  and  glittering,  sometimes  clear 
and  transparent,  but  generally  of  a  beautiful  bluish-green 
coulour,  and  breaks  like  slate :  it  is  called  Marienglass 
in  Russia,  and  used  for  windows  and  lanthorns  all  over 
Siberia,  and  indeed  in  every  part  of  the  Russian  empire  ; 
it  looks  more  beautiful  than  glass,  and,  as  it  will  stand 
the  explosion  of  cannon,  must  be  preferable  to  it. — 
Crystals  of  a  beautiful  water  inferior  only  to  the  diamond, 
are  frequently  picked  up  here.  About  sixty  miles  south- 
east from  the  Indian  town  of  Keowee,  there  is  a  rocky 
hill,  called  Diamond-Hill ;  where  pieces  of  crystal,  in 
various  figures,  generally  hexagonal,  hang,  like  icicles 
from  the  rocks,  and  seem  to  be  exudations  from  them 
in  the  same  manner  as  gums  are  from  trees  ;  they  require 
a  great  force  to  separate  them  from  the  rocks,  and  are 
often  very  large. 

The  province  is  well  supplied  with  springs  ;  some  of 
them  are  impregnated  with  iron,  and  others  with  sulphur : 
banks  of  oister-shells  are  met  with  frequently,  at  a  great 
distance  from  the  sea ;  I  saw  one,  once,  about  one 
hundred  and  thirty  miles  in-land  ;  the  oister-shells  were 
of  a  very  large  size,  many  of  them  petrified,  but  the 
greatest  number  in  their  natural  state  :  as  they  are 
always  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  upon  such 
places  as  were  formerly  certainly  possessed  by  the 
Indians,  I  see  no  reason  tosuppose  them  the  relics  of  an 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  471 

inundation,   (the    general  opinion)    but  that  they  were 
brought  there  by  the  Indians. 

There  is,  in  many  places  of  the  province,  variety  of 
clays,  of  which  tobacco-pipes,  and  the  finest  earthen- 
ware or  Chinn,  may  be  manufactured ;  likewise,  marles, 
boles,  nitrous  earths,  chalk  stones,  and  some  bituminous 
fossils. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Of  the  Air  and  Weather. 

The  summers  are  generally  dry,  clear,  calm,  and  ex- 
cessive hot;  the  autumn  moist,  warm,  and  unequal :  one 
minute  serene,  the  next  cloudy  and  tempestuous;  the 
winter  is  near  the  same  length  as  in  England,  and  pretty 
cool,  though  the  mid-day  sun  is  always  warm,  even  when 
the  evenings  and  mornings  are  sharp,  and  the  nights 
cold  :  the  spring  is  a  most  delightful  season  ;  ourbound- 
less  forests  are  then  cloathed  with  leaves,  and  inamelled 
with  aromadc  flov/ers  and  blossoms  of  the  most  Uvely 
colours,  perfuming  the  ambient  air ;  the  winged  song- 
sters chirping  on  every  bough,  with  inchanting  melody : 

"  No  gradual  bloom  is  wanting,  from  the  bud, 
First-born  of  spring,  to  summer's  musky  tribes; 
Nor  hyacinths  deep  purpled,  nor  jonquils 
Of  potent  fragrance  :  nor  narcissus  fair. 
As  o'er  the  fabled  fountain  hanging  stiJl ; 
Nor  broad  carnations  ;  nor  gay  spotted  pink; 
Nor  shower'd  from  every  bush  the  damask  rose; 
Infinite  numbers,  delicacies,  smells, 
With  hues  on  hues  expression  cannot  paint : 
The  breath  of  nature,  and  her  endless  bloom. 

"  Every  copse 
Thick  wove,  and  tree  irregular,  and  bush, 


472  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Bending  with  juicy  moisture,  o'er  the  heads 

Of  the  coy  choristers,  that  lodge  within 

Are  prodigal  of  harmony  :  the  thrush 

And  woodlark,  o'er  the  kind  contending  throng 

Superior  heard,  run  through  the  sweetest  length 

Of  notes. 

"  Join'd  to  these 
Innumerous  songsters,  in  the  freshening  shade 
Of  new-sprung  leaves,  their  modulation  mix 
Mellifluous.     The  jay,  the  rook,  the  daw, 
And  each  hard  pipe  discordant  heard  alone. 
Aid  the  full  concert :  while  the  stock -dove  breathes 
A  melancholy  murmur,  thro'  the  whole,"  Thomson. 

The  air  is  more  clear  and  pure  here  than  in  Britain, 
being  seldom  darkened  with  fogs ;  the  dews,  however, 
are  great,  especially  in  the  end  of  summer,  and  begin- 
ning of  the  fall.  The  rains  are  heavy,  but  commonly 
short,  and  observe  no  particular  season  or  time  of  the 
year. 

The  winds  are  generally  changeable  and  erratic, 
blowing  from  different  points  of  the  compass,  without 
any  regularity ;  about  the  vernal  and  autumnal  equi- 
noxes, they  are  commonly  very  boisterous ;  at  other 
seasons  moderate.  The  northerly  winds  are  cold,  dry, 
and  healthy ;  they  disperse  fogs  and  mists,  giving  a 
clear  sky.  The  north-west  is  the  coldest  we  have;  it 
comes  to  us  over  an  immense  tract  of  land,  and  from  the 
snow-capped  Apalachian  mountains ;  whenever  it  blows 
the  air  is  cool;  and  in  the  winter  it  generally  brings  us 
frost,  and  often  snow  ;  it  is  vulgarly  and  deservedly  call- 
ed the  great  physician  of  the  country,  as  by  its  force  it 
clears  the  air  of  the  putrid  autumnal  effluvia,  and  by  its 
coolness  shuts  up  the  pores  of  the  earth  and  of  the  trees, 
keeping  in  their  vapours,  the  principal  sources  of  the 
epidemics  of  the  warm  season:  this  refreshing,  invigor- 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.       473 

ating,  and  bracing  wind  is  anxiously  expected,  about  the 
month  of  October,  by  all ;  but  by  those  particularly  who 
have  the  misfortune  to  be  afflicted  with  the  more  obsti- 
nate intermittents,  to  whom  it  generally  affords  relief: 
the  easterly  winds  are  always  cool ;  from  them  we  have 
our  most  refreshing  summer  showers  :  when  they  blow 
for  any  continuance,  they  occasion  coughs  and  catarrhal 
fevers.  The  south  and  south-west  winds  are  warmest 
and  most  unhealthy :  in  whatever  season  they  blow,  the 
air  is  foggy  and  affects  the  breathing.  In  summer  they 
are  sultry  and  suffocating ;  an  excessive  dejection  of 
spirits,  and  debility  of  body,  are  then  an  universal  com- 
plaint; if  this  constitution  lasts  any  considerable  time, 
hysterics,  hypo,  intermitting  and  remitting,  putrid,  slow, 
or  nervous  fevers,  are  produced. 

The  changes  from  heat  to  cold,  and  vice  versa,  in  the 
spring  and  fall,  are  often  sudden  and  considerable,  and 
absolutely  depend  on  the  direction  and  force  of  the  wind: 
I  have  sometimes  known  a  difference  of  more  than  20 
degrees  in  Fahrenheit's  thermometer  in  a  few  hours.  In 
thermometers  graduated  by  his  scale,  kept  in  the  shade, 
where  the  air  has  free  access,  the  mercury  yearly  rises 
in  the  hot  months,  to  the  96th,  sometimes  to  the  100th 
degree,  and  (what  is  more  insupportable)  the  nights  are 
then  very  little  cooler  than  the  days.  In  the  winter  it 
always  falls  considerably  below  the  freezing  point. 

This  province  is  subject  to  frequent  and  dreadful  tem- 
pests of  thunder  and  lightning,  in  May,  June,  July  and 
August :  I  must  use  the  words  of  the  descriptive  Mr. 
Thomson,  to  give  a  just  idea  of  the  awful  appearance  of 
the  artillery  of  the  sky,  whose  reports  are  so  loud  and 
sharp,  and  frequently  destructive,  as  to  confound  the 
most  undaunted. 

60 


474  A.  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

"  'T  is  lightning,  fear,  and  dumb  amazement  all : 
When,  to  the  startled  eye,  the  sudden  glance 
Appears  far  south,  eruptive  through  the  clouds  ; 
And,  following  slower  in  explosion  vast, 
The  thunder  raises  his  tremendous  voice  : 
At  first,  heard  solemn  o'er  the  verge  of  heaven, 
The  tempest  growls ;  but  as  it  nearer  comes, 
And  rolls  its  awful  burthen  in  the  wind. 
The  lightnings  flash  a  larger  curve,  and  more 
The  noise  astounds  ;  till  o'er  head  a  sheet 
Of  hvid  flame  discloses  wide,  then  shuts 
And  opens  wider,  shuts  and  opens  still 
Expansive,  wrapping  ether  in  a  blaze  ; 
Follows  the  loosen'd  aggravated  roar. 
Enlarging,  deep'ning,  mingling,  peal  on  peal, 
Crush'd  horrible,  convulsing  heaven  and  earth." 

We  have  suffered  little  from  lightning  since  the  erect- 
ing of  sharp  points  in  many  public  buildings,  and  some 
private  houses  of  this  town,  recommended  by  the  ingeni- 
ous Mr.  Franklin  of  Philad.  to  draw  the  electrical  fluid 
(or  fire,  or  by  whatever  name  I  ought  to  call  it),  from  the 
clouds  that  are  charged  with  it,  and  thereby  prevent  an 
explosion. 

Earthquakes  are  unknown  here,  or  so  trifling  as  to 
have  passed  unnoticed. 

There  are  three  remarkable  hurricanes  remembered 
by  the  mhabitants;  the  last  happened  on  the  15th  of 
September,  1752.  The  summer  preceding  was  uncom- 
monly dry  and  hot ;  for  several  days  together,  about  the 
middle  of  July,  the  mercury  in  Fareinheit's  thermometer 
always  reached  ninety-nine  or  one  hundred  degrees. 
Very  little  rain  fell  between  that  time  and  September 
the  14th,  when  the  wind  in  the  afternoon  began  to  blow 
with  great  violence  from  the  north-east  and  continued 
increasing  till  the  morning  of  the  15th,  when  its  force 
was  irresistible;    it  stopped   the    course    of  the  Gulf 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  475 

stream,  which  poured  in  upon  us  like  a  torrent,  fiUing 
the  harbour  in  a  few  minutes ;  before  eleven  o'clock, 
A.  M.  all  the  vessels  in  the  harbour  were  on  shore,  ex- 
cept the  Hornet  man  of  v/ar,  who  rode  it  out  by  cutting 
awaj  her  masts ;  all  the  wharfs  and  bridges  were  ruin- 
ed, and  every  house  and  store,  &c.  upon  them  beaten 
down,  as  were  also  many  houses  in  the  town,  with  abun- 
dance of  roofs,  chimnies,  &c.  almost  all  the  tiled  or 
slated  houses  were  uncovered,  and  great  quantities  of 
merchandise,  &c.  in  the  stores  of  the  Bay-street,  were 
damaged  by  their  doors  being  burst  open.  The  town 
was  likewise  overflowed,  the  water  having  risen  ten  feet 
above  high-water  mark  at  spring-tides ;  and  nothing 
was  to  be  seen  but  ruins  of  houses,  canoes,  wrecks  of 
boats,  masts,  yards,  barrels,  staves,  &c.  floating  and 
driving  with  great  violence  through  the  streets,  and 
round  about  the  town :  The  inhabitants,  finding  them- 
selves in  the  midst  of  a  tempestuous  sea,  the  violence 
of  the  wind  continuing,  the  tide  (according  to  its 
common  course)  being  expected  to  flow,  till  after  one 
o'clock,  and  many  of  the  people  being  up  to  their  necks 
in  water  in  their  houses,  began  now  to  despair  of  life  ; 
but  (here  we  must  record  as  signal  an  instance  of  the 
immediate  interposition  of  Divine  Providence  as  ever 
appeared)  they  were  soon  delivered  from  their  appre- 
hensions ;  for,  about  ten  minutes  after  eleven  o'clock, 
the  wind  veered  to  E.  S.  E.,  S.  and  S.  W.  very  quick, 
then  (though  its  violence  continued,  the  sea  still  beating 
and  dashing  with  amazing  impetuosity)  the  waters  fell 
above  five  feet  in  the  space  of  ten  minutes ;  without 
which  sudden  and  unexpected  fall,  every  house  and  in- 
habitant of  this  town  must,  in  all  probability  have  per- 
ish'd.  This  shifting  of  the  wind  left  the  stream  of  the 
Gulf  of  Florida,  to  follow  its  wonted  course;  and  before 


476  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

three  o'clock,  P.  M.  the  hurricane  was  intirely  over ; 
many  people  were  Jdrowned,  and  others  much  hurt  by 
the  fall  of  houses  :  For  about  forty  miles  round  Charles- 
town,  there  was  hardly  a  plantation  that  did  not  loose 
every  out-house  upon  it,  and  the  roads,  for  years  after- 
wards, were  incumbered  with  trees  blown  and  broken 
down. 

Whirlwinds  are  sometimes  felt  here  ;  a  most  violent 
one   of  that  kind,  commonly  known  under  the  title  of 
Typhones,  pass'd  down  Ashley  river  on  the  4th  of  May,. 
1761;    and  fell  upon  the  shipping  in  Rebellion  Road, 
with  such  fury  as  to  threaten  the  destruction  of  a  large 
fleet,  lying  there,  readj  to  sail  for  Europe.  This  terrible 
phsenomenon  was  seen  by  many  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Charles-town,  coming  down  Wappoo-creek,  resembling 
a  large  column  of  smoke  and  vapour,  whose  motion  was 
very  irregular  and  tumultuous,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
neighbouring   clouds,    which   appeared   to   be    driving 
down  nearly  in  the  same  direction,  (from  the  S.  W.)  and 
with  great  swiftness:    The  quantity  of  vapour  which 
composed  this  impetuous  column,  and  its  prodigious  ve- 
locity, gave  it  such  a  sui-prising  momentum,  as  to  plow 
Ashley  river  to  the  bottom,  and  to  lay  the  channel  bare, 
of  which  many  people  were   eye-witnesses :    Wlien  it 
was  coming  down  Ashley  river,  it  made  so  great  a  noise 
as  to  be  heard  by  most  of  the  people  in  town,  which 
was  taken  by  many  for  a  constant  thunder;  its  diame- 
ter, at  that  time,  has  generally  been  judged  to  be  about 
three  hundred  fathoms,  and  in  heighth,  to  a  person  in 
Broad-street,  to  be  about  thirty-five  degrees,  though  it 
increased  in  its  progress  to  the  road:    As  it  passed  the 
town,  it  was  met  by  another  gust,  which  came  down 
Cooper  river;  this  was  not  of  equal  strength  or  impetu- 
osity with  the  other,  but,  upon  their  meeting  together, 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  477 

the  tumultuous  and  whirling  agitations  of  the  air  were 
seemingly  much  greater,  insomuch  that  the  froth  and 
vapour  seemed  to  be  thrown  up  to  the  apparent  heighth 
of  thirty-five  or  forty  degrees  towards  the  middle,  whilst 
the  clouds,  that  were  nov/  driving  in  all  directions  to 
this  place,  appear'd  to  be  precipitated,  and  whirled  round, 
at  the  same  time,  with  incredible  velocity  ;  just  after  this, 
it  fell  on  the  shipping  in  the  road,  and  was  scarce  three 
minutes  in  its  passage  ;  the  distance  is  near  two  leagues ; 
five  vessels  were  sunk  outright ;  his  Majesty's  ship  the 
Dolphin  and  many  others  lost  their  masts.     Whether 
was  this  done  by  the  immense  weight  of  this  column 
pressing  them  instantaneously  into  the  deep  ?    Or  was 
it  done  by  the  water  being  suddenly  forced  from  under 
them,  and  thereby  letting  them  sink  so  low  as  to  be  im- 
mediately covered  and  ingulphed  by  the  lateral  mass  of 
water  ?    This  tremendous  column  was  seen,   at  noon, 
upwards  of  thirty  miles  south-west  from  Charles-town, 
where   it  arrived  about  twenty-five  minutes  after  two, 
making  an  avenue  in  its  course  of  a  great  width,  tearing 
up  trees,  houses,  and  every  thing  that  opposed  it ;  great 
quantities  of  leaves,  branches  of  trees,   and  even  large 
limbs,  were  seen  furiously  driven  about,  and  agitated  in 
the  body  of  the  column  as  it  passed  along :    The  sky 
was  overcast  and  cloudy  all  the  forenoon ;   about  one 
o'clock  it  began  to  thunder,  and  continued  more  or  less 
till  three;  the  mercury  in  Fareinheit's  thermometer,   at 
two  o'clock,  stood  at  deg.  77 :  By  four  o'clock  the  wind 
was  quite  fallen,  the  sun  shone  out,  and  the  sky  was 
clear  and  serene ;    we  could  scarce  believe  that  such  a 
scene  had  been  so  recently  exhibited,  were  not  the  sink- 
ing and  dismantled  vessels  so  many  striking  and  melan- 
choly proofs  of  its  reality. 

That  kind  of  meteor  known  by  the  name  of  Aurora 


478  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Borealis,  or  Northern  Lights,  are  sometimes  seen  in  the 
autumn,  and  generally  denote  warm  and  dry  weather ; 
they  appear  in  the  form  of  large  pillars  or  streamers,  a 
little  to  the  north  of  the  place  where  the  sun  sets  in 
June ;  their  motions  are  commonly  languid,  and  they 
soon  disappear.  I  have  not  observed  them  to  rise  more 
than  twenty-five  degrees  above  the  horizon.  Halo's 
round  both  the  sun  and  moon  are  frequent  in  dry  wea- 
ther, and  are  imagined  signs  of  appproaching  rain. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

Of  the  Inhabitants  and  their  Food. 

The  inhabitants  are  either  w^hite  or  black ;  the  white 
are  between  thirty  and  forty  thousand ;  all  the  males, 
from  sixteen  years  of  age  to  sixty,  are  mustered,  and 
carry  arms  in  the  militia  regiments,  and  form  together  a 
body  of  about  seven  thousand  :  Their  complexion  is 
little  different  from  the  inhabitants  of  Britain,  and  they 
are  generally  of  a  good  stature  and  well-made,  with 
lively  and  agreeable  countenances ;  sensible,  spirited, 
and  open-hearted,  and  exceed  most  people  in  acts  of 
benevolence,  hospitality,  and  charity.  The  men  and 
women  who  have  a  right  to  the  class  of  gentry  (who  are 
more  numerous  here  than  in  any  other  colony  in  North 
America)  dress  with  elegance  and  neatness :  The  per- 
sonal qualities  of  the  ladies  are  much  to  their  credit  and 
advantage ;  they  are  generally  of  a  middling  stature, 
genteel  and  slender ;  they  have  fair  complexions,  with- 
out the  help  of  art,  and  regular  features ;  their  air  is 
easy  and  natural;    their  manner  free  and  unaffected ; 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.       479 

their  eyes  sparkling,  penetrating,  and  inchantingly 
sweet :  They  are  fond  of  dancing,  an  exercise  they  per- 
form very  gracefully ;  and  many  sing  well,  and  play 
upon  the  harpsicord  and  guitar  with  great  skill ;  nor  are 
they  less  remarkable  for  goodness  of  heart,  sweetness 
of  disposition,  and  that  charming  modesty  and  diffidence, 
which  command  respect  whilst  they  invite  love,  and 
equally  distinguish  and  adorn  the  sex — in  short,  all  who 
have  the  happiness  of  their  acquaintance,  will  acquit 
me  of  partiality,  when  I  say  they  are  excelled  by  none  in 
the  practice  of  all  the  social  virtues,  necessary  for  the 
happiness  of  the  other  sex,  as  daughters,  wives,  or 
mothers. 

The  weather  is  much  too  hot  in  summer,  for  any  kind 
of  diversion  or  exercise,  except  riding  on  horseback,  or 
in  chaises,  (which  few  are  without)  in  the  evenings  and 
mornings  ;  and  this  is  much  practised.  In  the  autumn, 
winter,  and  spring,  there  is  variety  and  plenty  of  game 
for  the  gun  or  dogs ;  the  gentlemen  are  not  backward 
in  the  chase.  During  this  season  there  is  once  in  two 
weeks  a  dancing-assembly  in  Charles-town,  where  is 
always  a  brilliant  appearance  of  lovely,  well-dress'd 
women :  We  have  likewise  a  genteel  playhouse,  where 
a  very  tolerable  set  of  actors,  called  the  American  com- 
pany of  comedians,  frequently  exhibit ;  and  often  con- 
certs of  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  generally  per- 
formed by  gentlemen. 

The  Negro  slaves  are  about  seventy  thousand ;  they, 
with  a  few  exceptions,  do  all  the  labour  or  hard  work  in 
the  country,  and  are  a  considerable  part  of  the  riches  of 
the  province ;  they  are  supposed  worth,  upon  an  ave- 
rage, about  forty  pounds  sterling  each ;  And  the  annual 
labour  of  the  working  slaves,  who  may  be  about  forty 
thousand,  is  valued  at  ten  pounds  sterling  each.     They 


480      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

are  in  this  climate  necessary,  but  very  dangerous  do- 
mestics, their  number  so  much  exceeding  the  whites  ; 
a  natural  dislike  and  antipathy,  that  subsists  between 
them  and  our  Indian  neighbours,  is  a  very  lucky  circum- 
stance, and  for  this  reason:  In  our  quarrels  with  the 
Indians  however  proper  and  necessary  it  may  be  to  give 
them  correction,  it  can  never  be  our  interest  to  extirpate 
them,  or  to  force  them  from  their  lands ;  their  ground 
would  be  soon  taken  up  by  runaway  Negroes  from  our 
settlements,  whose  numbers  would  daily  increase,  and 
quickly  become  more  formidable  enemies  than  Indians 
can  ever  be,  as  they  speak  our  language,  and  would  ne- 
ver be  at  a  loss  for  intelligence. 

The  general  assembly,  about  two  years  ago,  (under- 
standing that  there  was  in  the  .treasury  a  considerable 
sum  of  that  money  appropriated  by  the  general  duty 
act,  for  the  encouragement  of  poor  protestants,  to  be- 
come settlers  in  the  province)  passed  an  act  to  increase 
the  bounty  to  be  given  to  each ;  which  is  now  four 
pounds  sterling  to  all  abo"ve  the  age  of  twelve  years,  and 
two  pounds  to  those  who  are  between  two  years  and 
tv/elve,  and  one  pound  to  all  under  two  years  ;  besides 
this,  his  majesty's  bounty  is  one  hundred  acres  of  land, 
wherever  they  chuse  it,  provided  it  has  not  been  granted 
before,  to  the  head  of  every  family,  male  or  female  ; 
and  fifty  acres  for  every  child,  indented  servant,  or 
slave,  the  family  consists  of  If  this  act  has  the  de- 
sired effect,  the  security  and  opulence  of  the  province 
will  be  increased,  and  the  adventurers  will  be  pleased 
to  find  a  change  from  poverty  and  distress  to  ease  and 
plenty  ;  they  are  invited  to  a  country  not  yet  half  set- 
tled, where  the  rivers  are  crouded  with  fish,  and  the 
forests  with  game :  and  no  game-act  to  restrain  them 
from  enjoying  those  bounties  of  providence,  no  heavy 


A  DESCRIPTION   OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  481 

taxes  to  impoverish  them,  nor  oppressive  landlords 
to  snatch  the  hard-earned  morsel  from  the  mouth  of 
indigence,  and  where  industry  will  certainly  inrich 
them. 

There  is  both  great  plenty  and  variety  of  food,  for 
the  subsistence  of  the  inhabitants,  at  reasonable  prices. 
I  shall  here  only  name  the  different  sorts,  as  it  will  be 
sufficient  for  my  present  purpose ;  and  begin  with  the 
vegetables  :  Of  these  the  Indian  corn,  or  maize,  is  of 
general  use,  being  the  chief  subsistence  of  the  planta- 
tion slaves.  Rice,  which  is  produced  here  in  great 
quantity  and  perfection ;  upwards  of  one  hundred  thou- 
sand barrels  of  it  are  now  exported  annually  to  Europe, 
to  the  Northern  colonies,  and  to  the  West-Indies,  each 
barrel  containing  between  hve  and  six  hundred  w^eight. 
Wheat  is  cultivated,  with  much  success,  by  the  German 
protestants,  who  are  settled  on  the  interior  parts  of  the 
province ;  they  would  have  been  able  to  supply  the 
province  with  all  the  flour  we  consume,  by  this  time, 
had  they  not  been  interrupted  by  the  Cherokee  w^ar. 
These  Industrie  as  people  distil  a  palatable  brandy  from 
peaches,  which  they  have  in  great  plenty  ;  likewise  from 
potatoes,  Indian  corn,  and  rye  :  But  to  return  to  our 
vegetable  food :  We  have  plenty  of  potatoes,  both 
Irish  and  Spanish ;  pompions,  pease,  and  beans,  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  ;  apples,  pears,  nectarines,  peaches,  plums 
of  several  sorts,  chesnuts,  walnuts,  olives,  pomegra- 
nates, oranges,  lemons,  figs,  citrons,  melons,  with  a  great 
variety  of  other  fruits,  and  many  of  the  European  pot- 
herbs, as  cabbages,  brocoli,  colliflower,  &c.  &c.  In 
enumerating  the  animal  part  of  our  food,  I  begin  with 
the  fish  :  Mullet,  whiting,  black-fish,  rock-fish,  stur- 
geon, porgys,  trout,  bream,  and  many  other  sorts  of 
flatfish;  likewise  oistersy- Crabs, shrimps,  and  sometimes 

61 


482  A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

turtle.  Black  cattle  are  extremely  plentiful,  many  gen- 
tlemen owning  from  five  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred 
head;  the  beef  is  best  about  Christmas,  the  stall-fed 
cattle  being  then  brought  to  market ;  the  sheep  are  nu- 
merous ;  poultry  and  pork  we  have  in  plenty,  and  very 
good,  though  I  cannot  agree  with  the  inhabitants,  who 
believe  they  have  both  these  of  a  kind  superior  to  the 
rest  of  the  world  :  In  the  woods  and  fields  are  plenty 
of  wild  turkeys  of  a  large  size,  geese,  ducks,  doves, 
pigeons,  partridges,  hares,  rabbits,  racoons,  possums, 
&c.  likewise  a  beautiful  species  of  deer  :  The  hunting 
of  them  is  a  healthy  exercise,  and  a  very  entertaining 
diversion ;  they  are  the  principal  animal  food  of  cur 
back  settlers,  and  of  the  Indians ;  and  likewise  a  consi- 
derable branch  of  trade,  great  quantities  of  their  skins 
being  yearly  exported ;  a  small  duty  laid  on  them  is 
appropriated  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  the 
clergy.  The  buffalo's  are  sometimes  found  in  the  woods 
near  the  mountains ;  but  they  are  not  near  so  numerous 
as  they  were  a  few  years  ago ;  they  are  used  as 
food,  though  their  beef  is  hard  and  disagreeable  to  the 
palate. 

Madeira  wine  and  punch  are  the  common  drinks  of 
the  inhabitants  ;  yet,  few  gentlemen  are  without  claret, 
port,  lisbon,  and  other  wines,  of  the  French,  Spanish,  or 
Portuofal  vintaofes.  The  ladies,  I  mention  it  to  their 
credit,  are  extremely  temperate,  amd  generally  drink 
water ;  which,  in  Charles-town,  and  all  places  near  the 
sea,  is  very  unwholesome  ;  as  the  soil  is  not  solid  enough 
to  strain  it  sufficiently,  it  has  always  a  mixture  of  sand 
or  earth  in  it. 

Before    I   finish   this   chapter,   it  may  not  be  impro- 
per to  add,  that  Indigo  "^  is  cultivated  here  with  much 
*  Vid.  Chapter  VII. 


A    DESCRIPTTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  4§3 

success;  between  four  and  five  hundred  thousand 
weight  of  it  is  yearly  exported ;  and  that  the  soil,  in 
many  parts  of  the  province,  is  very  proper  for  the  culti- 
vation of  olive-trees  and  vines,  articles  that  have  been 
hitherto  almost  totally  neglected ;  a  little  attention  to 
them  would  save  much  money  expended  on  oil  and 
wine,  which  we  now  import.  The  cotton-tree  likewise 
grows  naturally  in  this  province,  and  might  be  of  great 
use  in  cloathingthe  poorer  sort  of  white  inhabitants  and 
the  Negroes,  if  any  pains  were  taken  to  cuUivate  it. 
The  honourable  society  for  the  propagation  of  arts,  ma- 
nufactures, and  commerce,  may  be  assured,  that  their 
most  sanguine  expectations  would  be  gratified  in  the 
culture  of  many  other  useful  commodities,  native  and 
exotic,  if  pursued  here  with  vigour  and  perseverance ; 
the  situation  and  climate  of  the  colony,  and  of  all  other 
places  about  the  same  distance  from  the  equator  in  both 
hemispheres,  being  universally  allowed  to  be  the  best 
for  the  production  of  all  the  necessaries  and  convenien- 
cies  of  life. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Of  Charles  Town,  and  the  other  Towns  and  Garrisons. 

The  province  is  divided  into  four  counties  and  nine- 
teen parishes.  Charles-town  is  the  metropolis,  which 
is  happily  situated  on  a  neck  of  land,  or  peninsula, 
formed  by  two  navigable  rivers,  where  they  mix  their 
streams,  and  present  us  with  a  large  comn:iodious  har- 
bour ;  Ashley-river  washes  the  town  on  the  west  and 
south,  and  Cooper-river  on  the  east ;  these  rivers  run 
parallel  to  one  another,  at  about  a  mile's  distance,  for  a 


484  A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

considerable  way  into  the  country,  gradually  separating 
to  their  sources.  The  streets  are  broad,  straight,  and 
uniform,  intersectmg  one  another  at  right  angles  ;  those 
that  run  east  and  west  extend  from  one  river  to  the 
other;  the  Bay-street  which  fronts  Cooper-river  and 
the  ocean,  is  really  handsome,  and  must  delight  the 
stranger  who  approacheth  it  from  the  sea. 

There  are  about  eleven  hundred  dwelling-houses  in 
the  town,  built  with  wood  or  brick  ;  many  of  them  have 
a  genteel  appearance,  though  generally  incumbered  with 
balconies  or  piazzas ;  and  are  always  decently,  and 
often  elegantly,  furnished ;  the  apartments  are  con- 
trived for  coolness,  a  very  necessary  consideration. 

The  white  inhabitants  are  about  four  thousand,  and 
the  Negro  servants  near  the  same  number.  I  have  ex- 
amined a  pretty  exact  register  of  the  births  and  burials 
for  fifteen  years,  and  find  them,  excepting  when  the 
small-pox  prevailed,  nearly  equal ;  the  advantage,  though 
small,  is  in  favour  of  the  births  ;  though  to  the  burials 
are  added  all  transient  people  who  die  here,  as  sailors, 
soldiers,  or  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  whose  busi- 
ness or  pleasure  bring  them  frequently  to  this  Metropo- 
lis. The  south-east  part  of  the  town  fronts  the  sea, 
from  which  it  is  about  three  leagues  distant,  and  from 
whence,  in  the  hot  season,  we  have  refreshing  breezes, 
which  the  flood-tide  always  brings  or  increases. 

The  town  is  divided  into  two  parishes,  St.  Philip's 
and  St.  Michael's ;  St.  Philip's  church  is  one  of  the 
handsomest  buildings  in  America  :  It  is  of  biick  plais- 
tered,  and  well  enlightened  on  the  inside  ;  the  roof  is 
arched  except  over  the  galleries  ;  two  rovv's  of  Tuscan 
pillars  support  the  galleries  and  arch  that  extend  over 
the  body  of  the  church  ;  the  pillars  ornamented,  on  the 
inside^  with  fluted  Corinthian  pilasters,  whose  capitals 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  485 

are  as  hio-li  as  the  cherubims  over  the  center  of  each 
arch,  supporting  their  proper  cornice  :  The  west  end 
of  the  church  is  adorned  with  four  Tuscan  cokimns, 
supporting  a  double  pediment,  which  has  an  agreeable 
effect ;  the  two  side  doors,  which  enter  into  the  belfry, 
are  ornamented  w^th  round  columns  of  the  same  order, 
which  support  angular  pecHments  that  project  a  consi- 
derable way,  ^nd  give  the  church  some  resemblance  of 
a  cross  :  Pilasters  of  the  same  order  with  the  cokimns 
are  continued  round  the  body  of  the  church ;  over  the 
double  pediment  is  a  gallery  with  banisters  ;  from  this 
the  steeple  rises  octogonal,  with  windows  in  each  face 
of  the  second  course,  ornamented  with  Ionic  pilasters, 
whose  intablature  supports  a  balustrade ;  from  this  the 
tower  still  rises  octogonal,  with  sashed  windows  on 
every  other  face,  till  it  is  terminated  by  a  dome,  upon 
which  stands  a  lanthorn  for  the  bells,  and  from  which 
rises  a  vane  in  the  form  of  a  cock. 

St.  Michael's  church  is  built  of  brick ;  it  is  not  yet 
quite  finished.  It  consists  of  a  body  of  a  regular  shape, 
and  a  lofty  and  well-proportioned  steeple,  formed  of  a 
tower  and  spire  ;  the  tower  is  square  from  the  ground, 
and  in  this  form  rises  to  a  considerable  height :  the 
principal  decoration  of  the  lower  part  is  a  handsome 
portico,  with  Doric  columns,  supporting  a  large  angular 
pediment,  with  a  modilion  cornice ;  over  this  rises  two 
square  rustic  courses  ;  in  the  lower  one  are  small  round 
windows,  on  the  North  and  South  ;  in  the  other,  small 
square  ones  :  On  the  East  and  West  from  this  the 
steeple  rises  octangular,  having  windows  on  each  face, 
with  Ionic  pilasters  between  each,  whose  cornice  sup- 
ports a  balustrade  ;  the  next  course  is  likewise  octogon- 
al, has  sashed  windows  and  festoons  alternately  on  each 
face,  with  pilasters  and  a  cornice,  upon  whiclx  rises  a 


486      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

circular  range  of  Corinthian  pillars,  with  a  balustrade 
connecting  them ;  from  whence  is  a  beautiful  and  ex- 
tensive prospect  over  the  town  and  harbour,  along  the 
coast,  and  into  the  sea,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  carry  one  ; 
this  charming  prospect  is  frequently  heightened  by  tlie 
appearance  of  ships,  at  a  distance,  sailing  towards  the 
port.  The  body  of  the  steeple  is  carried  up  octangular 
within  the  pillars,  on  whose  intablature  the  ^pire  rises,  and 
is  terminated  by  a  gilt  globe,  from  which  rises  a  vane, 
in  the  form  of  a  dragon:  This  steeple  is  one  hundred 
and  ninety-tw^o  feet  in  height,  and  is  very  useful  to  the 
shipping,  who  see  it  long  before  they  make  any  other 
part  of  the  land  ;  which  eminently  distinguishes  this 
place  from  the  rest  of  the  coast,  where  there  is  a  same- 
ness very  dangerous  to  mariners.  The  church  is  eighty 
feet  in  lenGrth,  without  includinor  the  tower  and  retired 
place  for  the  altar,  and  fifty-eight  feet  wide. 

Besides  the  churches,  there  are  meetinof-houses  for 
the  members  of  the  church  of  Scotland,  for  those  called 
Independents,  two  for  Baptists,  one  for  French,  and  one 
for  German  protestants  :  Though  all  of  them  are  neat, 
large,  and  convenient,  they  are  too  plain  to  merit  parti- 
cular descriptions. 

Near  the  center  of  the  town  is  the  state-house,  a  large, 
commodious  brick  building ;  the  south  front  is  decorat- 
ed with  four  I  columns  of  the  composite  order,  wdiose 
capitals  are  highly  finished,  supporting  a  large  angular 
pediment  and  cornice  ;  it  consists  of  two  stories  besides 
the  roof;  on  the  lower  are  the  court-room,  the  secretary's 
office,  and  apartments  for  the  house-keeper ;  on  the 
upper  story  are  two  large,  handsome  rooms;  one  is  for 
the  Governour  and  Council,  the  other  for  the  Represen- 
tatives of  the  people,  with  lobbies  and  rooms  for  their 
clerks  ;  The  room,  called  the  council-chamber,  appears 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  487 

rather  croudecl  and  disgusting,  than  ornamented  and 
pleasing,  by  the  great  profusion  of  carved  work  in  it;  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  house  or  roof  is  a  large  room  for 
the  provincial  armory  :  Near  the  state-house  is  a  very 
neat  market-place,  well-regulated  and  plentifully  sup- 
plied with  provisions. 

Above  three  hundred  top-sail  vessels  enter  and  clear 
at  this  port,  annually,  bringing  us  necessaries  and  luxu- 
ries from  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  carrying  our 
produce  to  Europe,  the  northern  colonies,  and  the  West- 
Indies. 

About  ten  years  ago,  a  plan  w^as  approved  of  for  forti- 
fying Charles-town  in  a  very  respectable  manner,   and 
soon  after  began  to  be  put  in  execution,   on  the  south 
and  south-east  of  the  town,  but  was  discontinued  with- 
out finishing  any  part  of  it,  though  much  money  had 
been  laid  out   for  that  purpose  ;  the  town  is  at  present 
defended,  towards  the  water,  by  seven  batteries  or  bas- 
tions, of  which  three  are  considerable  ones,  connected  by 
courtine  lines,  having  platforms  with  about  one  hundred 
heavy  cannon  mounted.     The   old  fortification,  on  the 
land  side,  is  in  ruins  ;  a  new  w^ork  was  begun  in  1757, 
a  little  without  the  other ;  the  plan  was  a  horn-work,  to 
be  built  with  tappy,  and  flanked  with  little  batteries  and 
redoubts,  at  proper  distances  ;  the  whole  to  extend  from 
one  river  to  the  other,  but  a  stop  was  put  to  this  like- 
wise, after  a  considerable  progress  was  made  in  it,  either 
for  want  of  money,  which  is  probable ;  or  from  an  opin- 
ion, that  it  was  unnecessary  :  Besides  these  works,  the 
harbour  is  defended  by  Fort- Johnson,   about  two  miles 
distant  from  Charles-town,  on  a  sea  island,  which  forms 
one  side  of  the  harbour :  It  is  placed  within  point-blank 
shot  of  the  channel,  through  which  the  ships  must  pass 
in  their  way  to  town:    The  lower  battery  is  on  a  level 


488  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

with  the  water,  and  has  fifteen  eighteen-pounders,  and 
five  nine-pounders,  mounted  en  Barbette ;  the  upper  part 
of  this  fort  is  old  and  very  irregular;  it  has  two  demi- 
bastions  towards  the  water,  and  a  third  projection  in  the 
form  of  a  swallow's  tail,  all  of  them  having  platforms  and 
cannon  mounted  Towards  the  land  is  a  gate  with 
a  ravelin,  two  ditches,  two  bridges,  and  a  glacis,  with 
the  beginning  of  a  new  work  built  with  tappv,  on  the 
north-west,  left  unfinished.  The  captain  of  this  fort  is 
commissioned  by  the  King.  There  are  barracks  in  it 
for  fifty  men  ;  but,  on  the  approach  of  an  enemy,  the 
militia  of  the  island  march  into  it  for  its  defence. 

There  are  several  charitable  societies  in  the  town ; 
the  principal  of  them  is  called  the  Carolina  Society, 
which,  by  an  easy  subscription,  maintains  many  decay- 
ed famihes,  and  educates  many  orphans ;  I  must  not 
forget  to  mention  the  St.  Andrew's  Club,  which  is  chiefly 
composed  of  Scotsmen,  but  whose  charitable  donations 
are  confined  to  no  country.  There  is  a  society  calcu- 
lated for  the  promotion  of  literature,  named  the  Library 
Society,  at  present  in  a  flourishing  state,  and  through 
whose  means  many  useful  and  valuable  l)ooks  have 
been  already  introduced  into  the  provhice,  which  proba- 
bly would  not  otherwise  have  soon  found  their  way 
here,  private  fortunes  not  being  equal  to  the  expence. 
The  following  account  of  the  intentions  of  this  society 
was  published,  about  two  years  ago,  by  way  of  introduc- 
tion to  their  rules. 

ADVERTISEMENT. 

Et  Artes  trans  mare  currunt. 

The  advantages,   arising  to  mankind  from  learning, 
are  so  evident,  that  all  civilised  societies,  both  ancient 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.       489 

and  modern,  have  given  the  greatest  encouragement  to 
the  promotion  of  it,  and  ever  held  it  in  the  highest  vene- 
ration and  esteem :  As  this  is  not  to  be  acquired  but  by 
a  Hberal  education,  together  with  the  use  of  valuable 
books,  the  Charles-town  Library  Society,  having  both 
these  points  in  view,  must  appear  in  a  very  favourable 
light,  to  all  who  have  the  least  degree  ef  generous  regard 
for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  posterity. 

"  Though  any  attempt  to  enumerate  or  recommend  the 
benefits  of  education  may  appear  superfluous,  yet,  the 
following  most  obvious  contrast  cannot  fail  to  make  the 
strongest  impression  in  favour  of  our  undertaking ;  let 
a  person  of  any  consideration  or  humanity  take  a 
serious  view  of  the  Indian  inhabitants  of  this  extensive 
continent,  and  it  will  be  impossible  for  him  to  reflect 
without  very  mortifying  sentiments,  how  little  human 
nature,  uncultivated,  differs  from  the  brute  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  with  what  exalted  pleasure  will  he  contemplate 
the  splendid  figure,  which  Great  Britain,  the  admiration 
and  envy  of  the  world,  at  present  makes,  when  compar- 
ed with  its  rude  and  savage  state,  in  the  days  of  Julius 
Caesar ;  and  who,  without  the  most  melancholy  reflec- 
tions, can  cast  his  eye  on  the  ancient  state  of  Babylon, 
Egypt  and  Greece,  those  seats  of  empire,  those  foun- 
tains of  learning,  and  nurses  of  arts  and  sciences,  and 
from  thence  turn  to  their  present  miserable  condition, 
oppressed  with  slavery,  their  learning  extinct,  their  arts 
banished  by  a  successive  inundation  of  barbarians  ? 

''As  the  gross  ignorance  of  the  naked  Indian  must  raise 
our  pity,  and  his  savage  disposition  our  horror  and  de- 
testation, it  is  our  duty  as  men,  our  interest  as  members 
of  a  community,  to  take  every  step,  pursue  every  method 
in  our  power,  to  prevent  our  descendants  from  sinking 
into  a  similar  situation  ;  to  obviate  this  possible  evil,  and 

62 


490  A   DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

to  obtain  the  desirable  end,  of  handing  down  the  Euro- 
pean arts  and  manners  to  the  latest  times,  is  the  great 
aim  of  the  members  of  this  society,  who  are  ambitious 
of  approving  themselves  v/orthy  of  their  mother-countr}/, 
by  imitating  her  humanity,  as  well  as  her  industry,  and 
by  transporting  from  her  the  improvements  in  the  finer 
as  well  as  in  the  inferior  arts. 

"  Desirous,  therefore,  that  this  laudable  ambition  may 
be  as  extensive  as  the  province,  they  invite  every  lover 
of  his  country,  every  well-wisher  to  posterity,  to  join  with 
them  in  promoting  the  good  purposes  intended  by  this 
society." 

Then  follows  an  account  of  the  rise,  progress,  and 
present  state  of  the  society,  not  necessary  to  be  copied 
here  ;  I  shall  only  add,  that  lieutenant  governor  Bull  is 
president  of  the  society,  and  a  sanguine  promoter  of  their 
commendable  pursuits. 

Beaufort  is  the  next  most  considerable  place,  though 
a  small  town,  about  seventy  miles  S.  W.  from  Charles- 
town,  pleasantly  situated  on  the  south  side  of  a  seaisland, 
named  Port  Royal,  from  its  harbour,  which  is  capacious 
and  safe,  and  into  which  ships  of  a  large  size  may  sail ; 
here  is  a  collector,  with  other  custom-house  officers. 
The  harbour  is  defended  by  a  small  fort,  lately  built  of 
tappy,  a  cement  composed  of  oyster-shells  beat  small, 
with  a  mixture  of  lime  and  water,  and  is  very  durable. 
The  fort  has  two  demi-bastions  to  the  river,  and  one  bas- 
tion to  the  land,  w^ith  a  gate  and  ditch ;  the  barracks 
are  very  good,  and  will  lodge  one  hundred  men,  with 
their  officers  ;  there  are  in  it  sixteen  weighty  cannon,  not 
yet  mounted,  the  platforms  and  parapet  wall  not  being 
finished  for  want  of  money. 

Georgetown  is  about  sixty  miles  N.  E.  distant  from 
C^arlestown  ;  it  is  near  the  sije  of  Beaufort,  and  is  like- 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  491 

wise  a  port  of  entry,  having  a  collector  and  other  custom 
house  officers.  The  general  assembly  provided  money 
to  build  a  fort,  some  years  ago,  for  the  defence  of  the 
harbor  ;  but  I  have  not  heard  that  it  has  yet  had  a  be- 
ginning. 

There  are  several  look-outs,  as  they  are  called,  along 
the  coast,  having  two  or  more  guns  and  three  or  four  men 
eac'i  ;  who  are  to  alarm  the  inhabitants  on  the  approach 
of  the  enemy  in  privateers,  or  the  more  formidable  dan- 
ger of  fleets. 

On  our  Western  frontiers,  about  three  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  N.  W.  from  Charles-town,  is  Fort-Prince 
George,  situate  in  a  fertile  valley,  through  w^hich  runs  a 
considerable  river,  named  here  Keowee  river,  from  the 
Indian  town  on  the  west  bank  of  it :  this  fort  was  built 
by  governor  Glen,  and  lately  repaired  by  colonel  Grant ; 
it  is  a  regular  square,  has  an  earthen  rampart  about  six 
feet  high,  on  which  stockades  are  fixed  ;  with  a  ditch,  a 
natural  glacis  on  two  sides,  and  bastions  at  the  angles, 
on  each  of  which  are  four  small  cannon  mounted  ;  it  is 
within  gun-shot  of  the  Indian  town,  and  has  very  good 
barracks  for  one  hundred  men. 

Near  New  Windsor,  about  one  hundred  and  seventy 
miles  lower  down  on  the  same  river,  but  now  called  Sa- 
vannah river,  on  a  beautiful  and  commanding  situation, 
is  another  fort,  named  Fortmore,  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  west  from  Charles-town ;  it  is  built  of  six- inch 
plank  nailed  to  posts  of  light  wood,  with  four  towers  or 
bastions  on  the  angles,  on  which  are  small  cannon 
mounted  ;  on  the  inside  is  a  banquet,  with  loop  holes  in 
the  courtines  for  small  arms  ;  it  has  neither  ditch  nor 
glacis,  but  very  good  barracks  for  one  hundred  men. 
This  fort,  though  not  built  above  fifteen  years,  is  alrea- 
dy in  a  ruinous  condition  ;  this  and  all  the  other  forts, 


492  A  DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

with  two  in  Georgia,  are  garrisoned  by  his  majesty's  three 
independent  companies  stationed  here. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Of  the  diseases  most  frequent  in  Charles-toivn  and    its 

neighhourliood. 

SECTION  1. 

The  diseases,  that  may  be  termed  epidemics,  are  either 

acute  or  chronic.     The  acute  diseases  may  be  subdivided 

into  those  of  the  warm  and  those  of  the  cold  seasons. 

The  first  are  intermittents  of  all  kinds,  fluxes,  and 
cholera  morbus  :  The  winter  diseases  are  pleurisies,  pe- 
ripneumonies,  and  catarrhal  fevers. 

The  chronic  diseases  are  obstructions  of  the  abdomi- 
nal viscera,  hsemcrrhoids,  ruptures,  worm  fevers,  and 
what  is  called  the  lame  distemper. 

■^  Intermittents  appear  in  different  forms,  such  as  ter- 
tian, double  tertian,  quotidian,  and  remitting  fevers  ;  all 
which,  however  they  may  vary  in  their  type,  in  difl"erent 
constitutions  and  other  circumstances,  are,  nevertheless, 
of  the  same  nature,  and  proceed  from  the  same  cause, 
viz.  heat  and  moisture.     A  principal  source  of  humidity 
is  from  the  under-ground  water,  which  is  always  near 
the  surface  ;  and,  as  the  soil  is  light,  the  moisture  easily 
transpires  by  the  heat  of  the  sun  loading  the  air  with 
vapours,  even  where  no  water  is  visible.     Another,  and 
more  general  cause  of  the  humidity  and  corruption  of  the 
atmosphere  is  from  the  imperfect  ventilation,  there  beino- 
no  hills  to  receive  the  winds,  or  to  direct  them  in  streams 
upon  the  lower  grounds  ;  hence  the  air  is  apt  to  stagnate, 
and  the  more  so  by  reason  of  the  great  quantities  of  trees, 

*  Vid.  Pringle's  Observations  on  the  diseases  of  the  Army,  and  Cleg- 
horn's  Diseases  of  Minorca. 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  493 

which  not  only  confine  but  moisten  the  air  by  transpira- 
tions from  their  bodies  and  leaves  :  this  is  an  excremen- 
titious  moisture,  whose  former  salubrious  parts  were  spent 
in  the  nutrition  of  the  trees,  plants,  and  their  efflorescen- 
cies  ;  and  the  remainder,  being  perspirant,  floats  for  a 
time  in  the  air,  till  the  grosser  parts  subside,  and  the  finer 
rise  higher. 

The  great  heat,  in  the  summer  time,  conspires  with 
the  moisture  to  relax  the  solids,  and  dispose  the  humours 
to  putrefaction ;  and,  according  to  the  various  degrees 
of  heat  and  moisture  of  the  season,  the  epidemics  appear 
sooner  or  later,  are  of  a  longer  or  shorter  duration,  and 
are  attended  with  mild  or  alarming  symptoms.  The  sum- 
mer diseases  begin  commonly  in  July,  and  disappear 
about  Christmas.  In  Charles-town,  these  diseases  are 
proportion  ably  less  frequent,  and  milder  than  in  the  coun- 
try ;  for  here  we  are  pretty  clear  of  trees,  have  a  large 
opening  to  the  sea,  a  kind  of  ventulation  in  the  streets, 
besides  a  thousand  culinary  fires  in  the  hottest  season 
to  dry  the  air.  In  the  country  they  have  none  of  those 
advantages,  and  the  inhabitants  in  general  (being  more 
careful  to  acquire  splendid  fortunes,  than  to  preserve 
their  healths)  build  their  houses  near  their  rice-fields,  or 
indigo-dams,  where  they  must  always  keep  stagnating 
water. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  remark  here,  (what  has  been 
observed  by  Dr.  Pringle  of  another  country)  thot  moist 
and  rainy  seasons  are  very  different  in  this  climate  ;  in- 
tense and  contiaued  heat  occasion  the  greatest  moisture 
in  the  atmosphere,  by  the  immense  exhalations  they 
raise;  v/hereas  frequent  showers,  during  this  season,  cool 
the  air,  check  the  excess  of  vapors,  dilute  and  refresh  the 
corrupted  and  stagnated  water,  and  precipitate,  all  nox- 
ious and  putrid  efiluvia. 


494      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

The  cholera  morbus,  diarrhea's  and  dysenteries,  appear 
ill  the  same  season  with  the  fever  of  the  intermittincr 
kind,  and  seem  to  be  only  particular  determinations  of 
the  corrupted  humors  ;  to  which  if  the  first  passages 
give  vent,  a  cholera  or  flux  ensues  ;  but,  if  they  are  re- 
tained or  assumed,  they  occasion  intermitting,  remittino-, 
and  sometimes  continual  fevers.      The  late  ingenious 
Dr.  Lining,  of  this  town,  by  an  indefatigable  series  of 
statistical  experiments  made  on  himself,  for  a  whole 
year,  found,  that,  in  the  spring,  the  excretion  of  urine 
was  to  perspiration  as  fifty-three  to  thirty-three,  and  to 
alvine  discharges  as  twenty-six  ;  in  summer,  as  thirty- 
six  to  fifty-one  and  twenty-nine  ;  in  autamn,  as  thirty- 
seven  to   forty-eight  and  forty  ;  in  winter,  as  fifty-three 
to  thirty-one  and   twenty-six  :   so  that  the  discharge  of 
the  skin  is  greatest  in  summer,  and  least  in  winter  ;  and 
the  urine  much  alike  in  winter  and  spring,  but  least  in 
summer.     The  stools  are  much  the  largest  in  autumn  ; 
hence  the  prevalency  and  cause  of  the  cholera  morbus 
and  fluxes  may  be  easily  accounted  for  at  that  season  ; 
for  the  orifices  of  the  excretory  ducts  of  the  skin  are 
straitened,  and  their  discharges  lessened,  one  thirteenth 
part,  or  from  fifty-one  to  forty-eight ;   and  the  urinary 
passages  enlarged  only  one  thirty-seventh  ;  and  the  mus- 
cular coar  of  the  bowels,  having  lost  a  great  part  of  its 
strength  and  elasticity,  by  the  preceding  summer  heat, 
must  necessarily,  in  weak  persons,  or  such  as  live  more 
irregularly,  or  are  often  exposed  to  sudden  heats  and 
colds  common  at  this  season,  have  a  coUuvies  thrown  up- 
on them,  wdiich,  accumulating  for  some  time,  will,  at  last, 
burst  out  in  a  looseness  ;  but,  if  there  is  greater  stagna- 
tion in  the  intestines  and  stomach,  a  flagging  of  the  ap- 
petite, and  a  pumping  of  the  bile  upwards,  a  cholera  will 
happen,  followed  by  a  bilious  looseness.     If  the  sea- 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  495 

soil  is  cloudy,  foggy,  hazy,  moist,  misty,  or  rainy,  diarr- 
heas will  prevail  most,  and  their  excretions  will  be  thin 
and  watery  :  if  the  season  is  otherwise  constituted,  cho- 
lera's will  abound  most,  and  the  patient's  stools  will  be 
more  bilious,  and  attended  with  greater  gripings  and 
Tormina  Ventris,  &c.  &c. 

By  Dr.  Lining's  experiments,  we  find,  that  the  excre- 
tions of  urine,  perspiration,  and  the  alvine  discharges, 
added  together,  are  considerably  less  in  the  winter  and 
spring  than  in  the  other  seasons  ;  at  the  same  time  the 
appetite  is  keener  and  digestion   better,  demanding  a 
larger  supply  of  nourishment,  snd  consequently  a  larger 
quantity  of  food  must  go  into,  and  be  retained,  in  the  ha- 
bit of  the  body  ;  which  will  occasion  a  greater  fulness 
in  the  vessels,  and  from  their  dilatation  they   become 
weaker,  and  the  smaller  ramifications  less  al'leto  resist 
the  approach  and  ingress  of  too  large  globules  or  parti- 
cles ;  whence  a  plethora  will  arise,  which  will  produce 
inflammatory  fevers,  greater  difficulty  in  the  circulation 
and  topical  inflammations  of  the  vital  organs,  the  brain, 
the  lungs,  and  even  sometimes  the   heart.     The  winter 
diseases  seldom  appear  before  Cliristmas,  and  are  most 
frequentin  February  and  March.     From  Dr.  Lining's  ex- 
periments we  may  likewise  see  the  reason  why  people 
generally  look  better,  fresher,  and  fuller  in  the  winter  ; 
because  the  autumnal  perspiration  of  forty-eight  is  redu- 
ced from  that  to  thirty-one  ;  and  their  alvine  discharges, 
from  forty  to  tv/enty-six  ;  yet  the  appetite  and  digestion 
are  both  better  and  stronger.     This  also  gives  the  rea- 
son vAiy  people  in  the  Fall  are  weakest  and  faintest,  and 
can  least  bear  any  evacuations  ;  for  the  quantity  of  urine 
discharged,  after  all  the  exhausting  summer  heat,  is  in- 
creased from  thirty-six  to  thirty-seven ;  and  of  their  stools 
from  thirty-six  to  forty. 


496  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


SECTION  II. 

Though  the  remote  causes  of  all  fevers  may  be  differ- 
ent, they  too  varying  considerably  in  different  constitu- 
tions and  seasons  of  the  year ;  yet  the  immediate  or  proxi- 
mate cause  is,  in  all,  the  same  :  and  nature,  in  all  of 
them,  operates  in  the  same  uniform  manner,  though  with 
different  degi'ees  of  force,  in  her  endeavors  to  relieve  her- 
self of  what  is  injurious  to  her  ;  hence  there  is  a  greater 
simplicity  and  uniformity  in  the  cure  of  them  all,  than 
could  well  be  expected,  or  is  generally  imagined. 

The  following  very  plain  account  of  the  method  of  cu- 
ring several  fevers,  &c.  which  I  have  found  most  suc- 
cessful, during  a  long  and  pretty  general  practice,  (and 
for  part  of  which  I  am  obliged  to  the  late  Dr.  Lining) 
will  be  a  proof  of  this  assertion,  if  any  is  needed.  I  be- 
gin with 

Continual  Fevers. 

Though  not  frequent  in  this  climate,  yet  they  some- 
times appear  in  particular  constitutions  of  the  weather, 
and  from  causes  not  easily  assignable,  and  continue  se- 
ven or  fourteen  days,  or  to  a  much  longer  period. 

The  patient  ought  to  be  kept  quiet  in  bed,  with  his 
head  raised  high,  and  covered  with  no  more  than  his  usu- 
al bed-cloaths  ;  the  room  should  be  darkened,  not  too 
warm,  and  fresh  air  frequently  admitted  into  it,  but  not 
to  blow  upon  the  patient ;  a  cooling  diet  is  absolutely  ne- 
cessary, such  as  gruel  without  seasoning,  which  should 
be  taken  frequently,  a  teacup  full  at  a  time  ;  the  drink 
should  be  sage  tea,  barley-water,  and  the  like,  warm ; 
to  any  of  which  some  of  the  juice  of  lemons  or  oranges 
may  be  added.     All  heating  and  spirituous  drinks  should 


a.  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  497 

be  abstained  from.  In  the  first  day  of  the  disease  the 
following  mixture  will  be  of  service  :  B^  Sal  Merah. 
Glauh.  zxii.  aq.  font.  Ivi,  ft.  solutio  ;  cui  adde  Kerm.  Mi~ 
neralis  gr.  vi,  01.  Menth.  (Sacch.  except.)  Gutt.  iv  M. — 
Of  this  a  spoonful  is  to  be  taken  every  hour,  with  a  cup- 
ful of  warm  gruel  after  every  dose.  This  mixture  gene- 
rally procures  some  loose  stools,  and  causes  a  general 
warm  sweat,  which  ought  to  be  encouraged  by  frequent 
draughts  of  warm  tea,  the  patient  lying  still  and  not 
turning  himself  often  in  bed  ;  when  he  has  occasion  to 
go  to  stool,  he  must  not  uncover  or  get  out  of  bed,  but 
must  use  a  bed-pan  or  pot,  and  keep  the  bed-cloaths 
well  wrapt  about  him  ;  while  taking  this  medicine,  the 
patient  must  avoid  all  acids.  On  the  second  day  of  the 
disease,  if  there  is  no  abatement  of  the  symptoms,  after 
some  loose  stools  have  been  procured  by  the  mixture  ; 
if  the  patient  is  full  of  blood,  and  the  fever  rather  in- 
creased than  lessened,  it  will  be  proper  to  take  away 
some  blood,  the  quantity  to  be  determined  by  the  age 
and  strength  of  the  patient,  or  violence  of  the  symptoms. 
It  is  not  however  right  always  to  delay  bleeding  so  long, 
for  in  corpulent  people,  especially  those  of  a  florid  com- 
plexion ;  in  hard  drinkers,  or  in  those  who  have  been 
much  exposed  to  the  sun  in  the  warm  months  ;  the  fever 
often  rises  so  high  in  a  few  hours,  as  to  make  immediate 
bleeding  necessary ;  I  mention  this  the  rather,  as  we  are 
here  generally  too  sparing  of  the  lancet.  After  bleeding 
when  necessary,  if  there  is  any  abatement  of  the  symp- 
toms, that  opportunity  should  be  embraced  to  give  a 
vomit ;  or  even  if  no  such  opportunity  offers,  and  the  pa- 
tient is  sick  and  oppressed  at  his  stomach,  a  few  grains 
of  ipecacuan  may  be  taken  with  safety.  If  the  fever 
still  continues  to  rage,  repeat  the  medicine  above  pre- 
scribed, and  afterwards  give  the  following  :     9=  Aq- 

63 


498  A  DESCRIPRION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Menth.  f vi,  Tart,  regenerat.  3ii,  pulv.  Croci  gr.  xxiv,  aq. 
theriacal.  ^ss  M.  Take  two  spoonfuls  every  two  hours, 
till  the  fever  remits,  and  then  give  the  saline  mixture  of 
Sal.  Absinth,  and  Succ.  Lemon,  two  spoonfuls  every  two 
or  three  hours,  until  a  perfect  intermission  is  obtained  ; 
after  which  the  patient  is  to  be  treated  as  I  shall  men- 
tion in  the  section  of  intermittents.  If  a  delirium,  con- 
stant watchfulness,  or  great  sleepiness  attend  the  fever, 
even  after  the  patient  has  taken  the  mixture  first  pre- 
scribed with  effect,  apply  a  blister  to  the  head,  and  others 
afterwards  to  the  different  parts  of  the  body  ;  a  blister 
applied  to  the  head  should  lie  on  forty-eight  hours ;  they 
however  ought  not  to  be  applied  in  the  beginning  of  con- 
tinual fevers,  nor  for  some  time  after  the  patient  has  been 
blooded,  and  taken  at  least  two  phials  of  the  first  mix- 
ture; when  the  watchfulness  is  obstinate,  and  the  patient 
has  been  two  days  or  longer  without  sleep,  it  will  be  ne- 
cessary to  give  at  night  twenty  or  twenty-five  drops  of 
laudanum. 

When  the  heat  of  the  fever  is  great,  give  twenty 
grains  of  Sal.  Nitri  in  a  cup  of  gruel  every  second  or 
third  hour. 

When  worms  are  suspected  to  irritate  the  symptoms 
and  keep  up  the  fever,  give  the  Indian  Pink  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner :  ^  Lonicerse  (vulgo  Indian  Pink)  totius 
Plantee  3  ii,  aq.  buUient.  S  viii,  ft.  infusio,  colat.  adde 
Tart,  regenerat.  3iss,  pulv.  Croci  xi,  01.  Rutae  (Sacch. 
except.)  gut.  iv  M.  Of  this  give  one  spoonful  every 
hour. 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.       499 

SECTION  III. 
Of  the  Slow  or  Nervous  Fever. 

The  pulse  in  these  fevers  is  small,  quick,  and  weak ; 
the  heat  does  not  rise  to  so  great  a  height,  as  in  the 
continual  and  inflammatory  fevers ;  the  patient  seldom 
complains  of  thirst ;  the  tongue  is  commonly  white  and 
moist  in  the  beginning  of  the  disease,  but  at  last  becomes 
dry,  and  red  and  brownish,  without  being  attended  with 
thirst ;  the  patient  complains  of  a  load  or  oppression  at 
his  stomach,  is  restless,  and  though  frequently  drowsy, 
seldom  gets  any  sleep ;  the  dejection  of  spirits  is  very 
great ;  there  are  frequent  returns  of  heats  and  chills, 
the  urine  is  commonly  pale,  the  palms  of  the  hands  con- 
tinue hot,  even  when  an  abatement  of  the  fever  happens  ; 
sweats  sometimes  break  forth,  which  are  commonly 
clammy,  especially  about  the  face,  without  any  advan- 
tage to  the  patient ;  but  when  they  are  warm  and  gene- 
ral, the  patient  is  relieved  by  them ;  from  the  beginning 
there  is  a  pain,  load,  or  giddiness  of  the  head.  In  the 
progress  of  the  disease,  there  is  commonly  a  noise  or 
ringing  in  the  ears,  and  towards  its  last  period,  the  pa- 
tient is  generally  affected  with  deafness ;  then  are  like- 
wise frequent  twitchings  of  the  tendons,  sometimes 
a  delirium,  a  stupor  or  insensibility,  comes  on,  or  the 
patient  lies  in  almost  a  constant  sleep. 

These  fevers  make  their  advances  so  gradually,  that 
the  patient,  unacquainted  with  his  situation,  is  thereby 
often  a  great  sufferer ;  for  having  no  other  complaints, 
than  an  unusual  weariness,  weakness  and  aversion  to 
action ;  frequent  yawnings  and  stretchings,  a  loss  of 
.appetite  and  disrelish  to  nourishment ;  a  dull  pain  or 


500  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

weight  in  the  head,  with  an  unusual  heat  in  the  palm  s 
of  the  hands  and  forehead ;  I  say  the  patient,  having  no 
other  complaints  but  these  for  some  days,  permits  the 
disease  to  make  too  great  a  progress  before  he  takes 
advice ;  but  in  others,  especially  those  who  have  been 
much  exposed  to  the  sun  in  the  warm  months,  the  fever 
in  the  first  and  second  days  often  rises  to  a  great  height, 
after  which  it  soon  becomes  of  the  nervous  kind. 

These  fevers  are  often  protracted  to  a  great  length, 
as  they  sometimes  continue  fourteen,  twenty,  or  more 
days,  before  they  terminate,  though  in  that  time  there 
are  frequent  abatements  of  the  symptoms  for  a  few 
hours,  but  in  the  evenings  they  always  increase  again. 
As  this  fever  generally  attacks  people  of  weak  and  lax 
habits,  or  those  who  have  been  previously  weakened 
with  great  fatigue,  or  any  other  disease ;  it  is  evident 
evacuations,  and  especially  that  by  bleeding,  must  be 
made  with  great  caution ;  however,  it  is  necessary  to 
cleanse  the  first  passages ;  therefore  a  vomit  of  epica- 
cuan  should  be  given  when  there  is  any  remission  of 
the  fever ;  but  if  that  opportunity  should  not  offer,  and 
the  patient  has  a  loathing  at  his  stomach,  the  vomit 
should  be  given  without  delay  ;  after  which  the  follow- 
ing medicine  will  be  proper :  1^  Mann.  !  i,  Sal.  Cathart. 
Amar.  3  ii,  ft.  solutio  in  I  vi.  aq.  font,  colat.  adde  Kerm. 
Mineral,  gr.  iv,  01.  Menth.  (Sacch.  except.)  gutt.  iv  M. 
Of  this  mixture  give  one  or  two  spoonfuls  every  hour, 
till  it  procures  some  loose  stools ;  after  each  dose  a  cup 
of  chicken-broth  should  be  taken :  After  the  operation  of 
this  medicine  is  over,  give  the  patient  the  saline  mixture 
thus  prepared:  p.  Sal.  absinth.  3i,  Succ.  Lemon,  liss, 
misce  et  post  effervescentiam  adde  aq.  Menth.  liii,  Sp. 
Sal.  Volat.  Oleos.  3iss,  Sacch.  alb.  !ss  M.  Of  this  give 
the  patient  one  spoonful  every  second  or  third  hour ; 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUITI  CAROLINA.  501 

likewise,  ^  Piilv.  Crass.  Serp.  verg.  3ii,  aq.  font,  bullient 
?iv,  ft.  infusio.  After  it  has  stood  some  hours  in  infu- 
sion, strain  it,  and  give  the  patient  two  spoonfuls  every 
sixth  hour,  or  oftener  if  very  weak.  In  this  course  the 
patient  is  to  continue  daily  till  his  recovery,  or  till  the 
disease  ends  in  an  intermitting  fever,  and  is  then  to  be 
treated  as  such. 

In  the  progress  of  this  disease,  there  is  generally  a 
necessity  for  the  repeated  application  of  blisters  to  dif- 
ferent parts,  at  proper  intervals ;  if  the  patient  is  deliri- 
ous or  much  dejected,  a  blister  applied  to  the  head  is 
absolutely  necessary ;  and,  as  this  disease  is  generally 
protracted  to  many  days,  it  is  expedient,  as  soon  as  the 
last  applied  blister  begins  to  dry  up,  to  apply  another  or 
more  to  some  other  part :  Great  care  should  be  taken 
to  prevent  the  patient  from  sleeping  long  at  a  time ; 
when  he  is  rendered  weak,  one  hour's  sleep  may  be 
more  than  with  safety  he  can  bear :  the  diet  should  be 
chicken-broth,  gruel,  or  panado,  seasoned  with  wine; 
the  drink,  besides  sage  or  baum-teas,  should  be  wine- 
whey  or  weak  Sangree. 


SECTION  IV. 

Of  Intermitting  Fevers. 

When  these  begin  early  in  the  autumn,  the  first  fit  of 
the  fever  frequently  continues  one,  two,  or  three  days 
before  there  is  a  distinct  intermission ;  if  the  fever  is 
slight,  it  will  go  off  in  a  few  hours,  and  in  such  cases 
there  is  no  occasion  for  medicine  ;  but  if  it  runs  high, 
and  is  accompanied  with  a  violent  head-ach,  oppression 
at  the  stomach,  pain  in  the  back  or  delirium ;  give  the 


502      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

mixture  of  Sal.  Glaub.  and  Kermes  Mineral,  before  pre- 
scribed, and,  if  the  heat  is  great,  twenty  grains  of  Sal. 
Nitri  at  the  same  time ;  if  the  stomach  does  not  retain 
this,  then  give  the  saline  mixture,  as  ordered  in  the  last 
section,  changing  the  Sp.  Sal.  Volat.  Oleos.  for  the 
same  quantity  of  the  Vin.  benedict,  and  of  this  give  two 
spoonfuls  every  second  hour ;  and  repeat  it  in  every 
succeeding  fit  of  the  fever. 

When  the  paroxysms  rather  lengthen  than  diminish 
in  the  time  of  their  duration,  so  that  there  may  be  dan- 
ger of  the  fever  becoming  continual,  the  loss  of  some 
blood,  especially  from  those  of  a  sanguine  habit,  is  ne- 
cessary, as  it  generally  brings  on  a  distinct  intermission. 
The  diet  and  drink,  in  the  time  of  the  fever,  must  be  the 
same  as  directed  before  in  the  continual  fevers ;  but,  if 
the  patient  is  weak,  that  prescribed  in  the  slow  fever  is 
most  proper.  In  the  first  intermission  a  vomit  should 
be  given ;  and  after  the  second,  or  at  farthest  the  third 
febrile  paroxysm,  the  Jesuit's-bark  should  be  given  in 
the  most  efficacious  manner,  either  in  substance  or  in 
strong  decoction :  The  success  of  this  medicine  depends 
much  on  the  quantity  that  is  given,  between  two  fits  of 
the  fever ;  when  the  intermission  is  short,  the  doses 
ought  to  be  taken  every  half  hour,  and  in  as  large  quan- 
tities as  the  stomach  will  bear. 

When  a  violent  head-ach  attends  the  disease,  and 
continues  even  in  the  time  of  the  intermission,  it  is 
generally  removed  by  the  application  of  a  blister  to  the 
head. 

The  bark  is  to  be  continued,  joined  with  neutral  or 
vegetable  salts,  as  the  case  may  require,  in  each  inter- 
mission, till  the  disease  is  conquered  ;  after  which  (to 
prevent  a  relapse)  it  is  always  proper,  that  the  patient 
continue  to  take  three  doses  every  day,  until  he  has  re- 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  503 

covered  his  strength ;  or  a  glassful,  two  or  three  times  a 
day,  of  an  infusion  of  bark,  snake-root,  and  salt  of  worm- 
wood in  Madeira  wine. 

The  diet  or  drink,  in  the  time  of  the  intermission, 
must  be  more  or  less  cordial  and  nourishing,  as  the  pa- 
tient is  more  or  less  weakehaed ;  for  diet,  the  following 
is  most  proper,  gruel,  panado,  sago,  and  salop,  seasoned 
with  wine ;  jellies,  chicken-broth,  and,  when  the  inter- 
missions are  not  short,  boiled  chicken  may  be  allowed  ; 
the  common  drink  may  be  wine-whey,  sangre,  toddy, 
and  sometimes  a  glass  of  wine. 

To  some  patients,  who  have  an  invincible  aversion 
to  the  Jesuits-bark,  I  have  often  given,  with  success,  the 
bark  of  the  root  of  a  species  of  laurel,  thus  distinguished : 
Magnolia  altissima  conibaccifera  foliis  ovato-lanceolatis, 
subtus  argenteos  cinericeis,  amplissimo  flore,  albo  fructu 
purpureo :  It  seems  to  possess  a  febrifuge  quality 
nearly  equal  to  the  Jesuits-bark,  with  less  astringency, 
and  on  this  account  preferable  to  it ;  when  the  patient 
gives  suck,  or  has  or  ought  to  have  the  Catamenia,  or 
Hemorrhoidal  flux : — and  will  always  answer  best  with 
children ;  it  is  to  be  given  in  the  same  form  and  dose  as 
the  Jesuits-bark. 


SECTION  V. 

Of  the  Dysentery  or  Bloody  Flux. 

This  disease  is  very  frequent  in  the  Autumn,  and  if 
the  intestines  have  been  emptied  of  the  scubala  or  hard 
excrements,  that  at  this  time  commonly  abound  in  them, 
will  generally  submit  to  the  common  practice  :  While 
these  remain,  the  patient  will  get  but  little  relief  from 


504  A    DESCRIPTION    OF   SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

any  medicines  ;  the  following  purging  mixture  and  clys- 
ter will  generally  obtain  this  end ;  ^  Sal  Cathart.  ^iss, 
Aq.  Font.  !  vi,  ft.  solutio  ;  cui  adde  Vin.  benedict.  Gutt. 
xi,  vel  Kermes  Mineral.  Gr.  vi.  01.  Menth.  (Sacch.  ex- 
cept.) Gutt.  iv,  Sacch.  Alb.  ?ss  M.  Give  two  spoonfuls 
every  hour  till  it  purges  briskly.  1^  Flor.  Chamae- 
mel,  3ii^  Sem.  foenicul.  d.  contus.  ^i^  Aq.  Font,  fxii, 
coque  ad  fviii,  Colaturee  adde  Sapon.  Venet.  3i  M.  pro 
Clysmate,  repetatur  pro  re  nata. 

When  these  scubala  are  all  expelled,  the  cure  is  to  be 
completed  by  a  proper  administration  of  the  Vitr.  cerat. 
Antimonii,  or  small  doses  of  Ipecacuan  powder,  assisted 
by  astringents  and  balsamics ;  among  which  I  would 
recommend  the  following  decoction,  which  I  can  affirm 
to  be  very  efficacious  :  Take  logwood,  sliced  thin  and 
and  cut  in  small  pieces,  one  oz.  burnt  hartshorn  finely 
powdered,  pomgranate  skins,] of  each  half  an  oz.  sumach- 
-roots,  one  oz.  cinnamon,  one  quarter  of  an  oz.  water, 
three  pints  ;  boil  a  third  away,  and  strain  the  decoction 
through  a  hair-sieve,  and  give  a  tea-cup  full  every  se- 
cond or  third  hour.  To  this  decoction,  if  the  patient  is 
much  weakened,  and  has  no  fever,  some  brandy  or  rum 
may  be  added  ;  but  if  the  patient  has  a  fever,  all  astrin- 
gents are  to  be  avoided.  The  most  proper  diet  is  rice- 
gruel,  panado,  sago  or  salop,  and  jellies  of  hartshorn- 
shavings,  without  any  lemon  or  orange  juice  in  them,  or 
wine  ;  and  all  to  be  taken  warm. 

The  dysentery  is  often  very  obstinate,  and  frequently 
becomes  a  chronic  disease  ;  in  such  cases  I  would  re- 
commend, besides  a  proper  generous  diet  and  general 
strengtheners,  a  decoction  of  the  connessi  bark,  with 
sumach-roots,  and  pomgranate  skins,  not  made  too 
strong,  and  used  for  common  drink  ;  in  such  cases,  lime- 
water  is  a  very  good  medicine  ;  but  no   medicine  will 


A  DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA,  505 

avail  in  some  cases  in  this  climate,  and  a  removal  to  a 
colder  is  absolutely  necessary  to  preserve  life ;  nor 
should  this,  if  in  the  patient's  power,  be  delayed  too 
long. 

SECTION  VI. 
Of  the  Pleurisy  and  Peripneumony. 

The  patient  should  lose  some  blood  from  the  arm,  as 
soon  as  possible  after  the  attack  of  this  disease  ;  the 
quantity  to  be  determined  by  the  pain  and  difficulty  of 
breathing,  or  as  the  fever  is  more  or  less  violent;  when 
these  symptoms  are  very  severe,  it  is  necessary  to  let 
the  blood  continue  running  till  there  be  an  abatement 
of  them,  or  to  repeat  the  bleeding  in  a  few  hours  after- 
wards. In  more  moderate  attacks  of  this  disease,  a  re- 
petition of  bleeding  is  rarely  necessary.  The  patient, 
immediately  after  the  first  bleeding,  must  be  put  to  bed 
in  a  room  where  he  will  neither  be  exposed  to  the  wind 
or  air  passing  through  crevices,  and  must  be  kept  mode- 
rately warm  with  bed-cloaths  :  Then  give  the  following 
medicine:  "^  Sal.  Cathart.  5  xii.  Aq.  Font.  5vi.  ft.  solu- 
tio;  cui  adde  Kerm.  Mineral.  Gr.  vi.  Sacch.  Alb.  5i  M. 
Give  the  patient  one  spoonful  every  hour,  with  some 
sage  tea  or  gruel  after  every  dose.  In  grown  people  one 
phial  of  this  mixture  generally  procures  some  loose 
stools,  and  causes  a  general  warm  sweat;  which  last 
ought  to  be  encouraged  by  frequent  draughts  of  warm 
tea,  thepatient  lying  still ;  and,  when  he  has  occasion  to 
go  to  stool,  or  make  water,  he  must  not  uncover,  but  use 
a  bed-pan,  or  some  other  conveniency,  keeping  the  bed- 
cloaths  well  wrapp'd  about  him.  In  five  or  six  hours 
after  the  operation  of  this  mixture  by  stool  is  over,  if 

64 


506      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

there  is  no  considerable  abatement  of  the  pain,  give  the 
following.     ?--Pulv.  Crass.  Serp.  Senicss    3iii,    coq.  in 
5xii  Aq.  Font.  ad.  fvicolatur;  cui  adde  Kerm.  Mineral. 
Gr.  vi.  Sacch.  Alb.  3  iM.    Give  of  this  one  spoonful  eve- 
ry hour ;  and  when  there  is  an  abatement  of  pain,  every 
second  or  third  hour.      It  will  be  of  great  advantage  to 
the  patient,  and  hasten  his  recovery,  especially  in  very 
cold  weather,  or  if  he  was  violentlj^  seized,  to  keep  some 
warm  bricks,  or  quart-bottles  filled  with  warm  water, 
constantly  to  his  feet  and  legs,  under  the  bed-cloaths  : 
Bathing-  the  feet  and  legs  in  warm  water  might  have  a 
better  effect,  only  it  would  be  attended  with  some  dan- 
ger, as  the  patient  might  catch  cold.     About  the  end  of 
the  first  or  second  day,  from  the  use  of  these  medicines 
and  directions,  the  patient  is  generally  much  relieved, 
and  commonly  free    from  danger :    the  breathing  and 
pain  in  the  side  are  easier  ;    the  fever,  heat,  and  thirst 
are  more  moderate;  the  tongue  is  moister,  though  its 
whiteness  perhaps  remains  ;  the  pulse,  which  in  the  be- 
ginning was  quick,  small,  and  hard,  is  now  less  frequent, 
fuller,  and  softer;  when  these  alterations  happen,  the 
patient  is  on  the  recovery,  and  there  is  seldom  occasion 
for  doing  any  thing  farther,  than  giving  him  a  diet  of 
easy  digestion,  and  taking  care  he  does  not  catch  cold. 
If  an  obstinate  costiveness  attends  the  disease,   which 
frequently  happens,    when  the  patient  has  been  either 
very  severely  attacked,  or  neglected  in  the  beginning ; 
or  when  the  head  is  much  affected  ;  care  should  be  ta- 
ken to  procure  loose  stools  as  soon  as  possible,  for,  while 
the  costiveness  continues,  the  benefit,  arising  to  the  pa- 
tient from  the  medicines  given  him,  will  scarce  be  per- 
ceptible ;  wherefore,  after  he  has  taken  a  phial  of  the 
mixture  first  prescribed  in  this   section  without  effect, 
give  a  clyster  of  corn  gi-uel,  with  Epsom  salts,  to  be  re- 


A  DESCRIPTTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.     507 

peated  pro  re  nata  :  After  this  repeat  the  mixture,  of 
which  the  patient  should  take  so  much  as,  with  the  help 
of  the  clysters,  will  every  twenty-four  hours,  procure 
five  or  six  stools,  till  there  be  a  great  abatement  of  pain, 
fever,  and  difficulty  of  breathing. 

When  a  looseness  with  gripes  attends  this  disease  in 
the  beginning,  the  patient  will  not  bear  such  plentiful 
bleeding  as  otherwise  might  be  necessary ;  it  is  then 
safest  to  take  away  a  small  quantity  at  a  time,  and  to 
repeat  the  bleeding  occasionally. 

When  the  heat  attending  the  fever  is  great,  (which 
will  seldom  be  the  case,  if  the  directions  before  given 
have  been  followed,  and  the  belly  has  thereby  been  kept 
sufficiently  open)  it  is  proper  to  give  20  grains  of  salt- 
petre, every  second  hour,  in  sage-tea,  or  gruel ;  but,  at 
the  same  time,  the  directions  given,  with  regard  to  the 
other  medicines,  must  be  followed.  If  the  pain  in  the 
side  continues  fixed  in  one  place,  (for,  when  it  shifts, 
there  is  less  danger)  after  the  above  directions  have 
been  carefully  followed,  for  above  48  hours,  apply  a 
blister  to  the  part  affected.  The  expectoration,  when 
suppressed,  is  to  be  promoted  by  the  patient's  drawing 
the  streams  of  warm  water  frequently  through  a  funnel 
into  the  lungs :  After  the  third  day,  if  the  cough  is 
great,  and  prevents  the  patient  from  sleeping  at  nights, 
give  15  or  20  drops  of  laudanum  every  night  in  his  com- 
mon drink,  or,  which  I  prefer,  the  following  mixture : 
^  Capit.  Papav.  alb.  contus.  S  ss,  sem  Foenicul.  d.  cont. 
9ii,  Succ.  Liquorit.  3ss,  Aq.  Font,  f  xii,  coq.  ad  5vi,  co- 
lat.  adde'^Acet.  Schillit.  3  ss  M.  Of  this  give  two  spoon- 
fuls every  two  hours,  or  oftener,  while  the  cough  is  trou- 
blesome. 

The  fever  continuing  after  the  pain  in  the  side  is 
gone,  is  to  be  cured  first  by  drinking  plenty  of  sage  or 


608  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

balm  tea,  or  gruel,  warm  ;  secondly,  by  blistering  plais- 
ters,  applied,  at  convenient  intervals,  to  different  parts  ; 
thirdly,  by  continuing  the  mixture  prepared  of  Rad. 
Serp.  SenicsB  and  Kermes,  &c.  every  third  hour ;  or  in 
place  of  it  15  or  20  drops  of  Huxham,  Essentia  Anti- 
monii,  every  third  hour,  in  sage-tea  ;  fourthly,  by  keep- 
ing the  belly  open ;  and  fifthly,  as  the  irritation  may  be 
kept  up  by  worms,  to  give  the  patient  the  pink-root  as 
before  directed,  Sect.  II. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  disease,  till  the  symptoms 
are  much  abated,  the  diet  must  be  light  and  of  easy  di- 
gestion, such  as  water-gruel,  which  must  always  be  tak- 
en warm,  and  in  small  quantities  at  a  time ;  the  drink 
may  be  sage  or  balm  tea,  a  decoction  of  mallows,  let- 
tuce, or  Mullein-leaves  in  water,  or  flax-seed  bruised ; 
of  any  of  which  the  patient  should  frequently  take  a 
cupful  warm,  and  must  avoid  all  spirituous  liquors  and 
cold  water.  When  the  symptoms  are  much  abated,  and 
no  complaint  but  weakness  remaining,  the  patient  may 
be  allowed  chicken-broth,  and  some  toddy  and  sangre. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  ^vinter,  and  of  the  spring,  if 
the  weather  is  unseasonably  warm,  pleurisies  frequently 
terminate  in  intermitting  fevers ;  in  which  case  the  pa- 
tient should  be  treated  according  to  the  directions  given 
in  that  disease. 

There  is  a  disease,  with  which  negroes  are  often  seiz- 
ed, and  frequently  proves  fatal  in  less  than  24  hours  ; 
in  which  the  patient  complains  of  a  sharp,  constant,  and 
violent  pain  in  one  of  his  eyes,  or  in  a  particular  part  of 
his  head,  and  is  vulgarly  called  the  pleurisy  of  the  eye, 
or  head :  This  disease  requires  the  same  method  of  cure 
as  the  pleurisy,  only,  on  account  of  its  acuteness,  there 
is  less  time  to  be  lost ;  therefore  the  medicines  above 
directed  must  be  given  at  shorter  intervals,   that  stools 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  509 

maj  be  procured  as  soon  as  possible,  the  patient  having 
been  first  plentifully  blooded:  It  is  highly  necessary  to 
keep  the  patient's  feet  and  legs  constantly  warm,  with 
warm  bricks  or  bottles  of  warm  water. 


SECTION  VII. 

Of  the  Peripneumony. 

A  peripneumony,  or  an  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  is  a 
much  more  dangerous  disease,  and  more  difficult  to  cure 
than  a  pleurisy,  on  account  of  the  great  importance  of 
that  organ,  to  life.  In  this  disease  the  breathing  is  short 
and  difficult,  the  patient  complains  of  a. load  at  his  breast, 
and  the  cough  is  more  troublesome  and  frequent  than 
in  the  pleurisy ;  it  is  frequently  combined  with  the  pleu- 
risy, and  then  called  pleuro-peripneumony ;  the  same 
method  of  cure  which  has  been  directed  for  the  pleu- 
risy, is  to  be  followed  in  it,  excepting  in  the  following 
things. 

The  room  where  the  patient  lies  should  be  large,  and 
the  air  in  it  rather  cool,  and  his  head  raised  high  in  the 
bed.  When  great  part  of  the  lungs  is  inflamed  (which 
is  known  by  the  shortness  in  breathing,  and  the  load  or 
oppression  at  the  breast  being  both  very  great)  the  pulse 
is  thereby,  for  obvious  reasons,  rendered  so  small  and 
weak,  that  bleeding  may  be  judged  unnecessary  :  This 
is,  however,  a  dangerous  mistake  ;  for  this  case  requires 
plentiful  bleeding,  and  it  will  be  found,  that,  as  the  in- 
flammation of  the  lungs  is  thereby  abated,  the  pulse  not 
only  becomes  fuller,  but  the  oppression  at  the  breast 
and  quick  breathing  will  be  greatly  relieved. 

A  peripneumony  generally  terminates  with  an  expec- 


510      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

toration,  which  is  indeed  a  favourable  event,  when  the 
patient  has  been  unfortunate  enough  not  to  be  reheved 
by  bleeding,  and  the  early  use  of  the  medicines  prescrib- 
ed in  the  pleurisy  ;  when  that  is  the  case,  the  expecto- 
ration must  be  promoted ;  to  eifect  which,  the  patient 
should  frequently  draw  the  steams  of  warm  water, 
through  a  funnel,  into  his  lungs,  and  drink  plentifully 
of  warm  gruel  made  thin,  barley-water,  tea  made  of 
hyssop,  sage  or  balm  sweetened  with  honey ;  to  which, 
every  third  hour,  add  20  grains  of  saltpetre.  The  mat- 
ter, when  freely  spit  up,  gives  great  relief  to  the  breath- 
ing and  oppression  at  the  breast,  and  the  disease  gene- 
rally goes  off  on  the  seventh  day  ;  the  cough,  after  the 
end  of  the  second  day,  must  be  mitigated  by  the  de- 
coction of  poppy-heads,  &c.  prescribed  in  the  pleurisy, 
to  which  two  drachms  of  the  Seneka  snake-root  may  be 
added  with  great  advantage. 


SECTION  VIII. 

Of  the  Chronic  Diseases. 

The  chronic  diseases,  mentioned  above,  appear  at  all 
times  of  the  year ;  the  frequency  of  obstructed  viscera 
seems  to  be  occasioned,'^  first,  by  the  intense  and  long- 
continued  summer-heats ;  they,  dissipating  the  finest 
particles  of  the  animal  juices,  necessarily  leave  the  rest  of 
a  grosser  and  more  earthly  nature  ;  and  thus  a  great  pro- 
portion of  that  kind  of  matter  is  generated  in  the  blood, 
which  the  ancients  called  Atrabilious ;  and  this  being 
deposited  in  the  viscera,  occasions  the  obstructions. 
Besides,  secondly,  these  obstructions  may  be  occasioned 

*  Vid.  Cleghorn  on  the  diseases  of  Minorca. 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.       511 

by  the  freqiiency  of  the  acute  diseases,  especially  of 
tertian  fevers,  which  as  they  often  go  off  with  an  imper- 
fect crisis,  and  frequently  relapse,  weaken  the  tone  of 
the  Chylopoetic  viscera,  and  at  last  terminate  in  hard 
schirrous  tumonrs  of  the  spleen,  liver,  and  mesentery. 

The  haemorhoidal  flux  is  very  common ;  however,  it 
is  of  great  service  in  all  the  visceral  obstructions,  and 
therefore,  however  frequent  or  troublesome,  should  be 
rather  considered  as  a  benefit  than  a  disease,  more  espe- 
cially as  it  prevents  pleurisies  and  peripneumonies,  ac- 
cording to  the  doctrine  of  Hippocrates. 

Ruptures  are  likewise  common ;  they  may  be  owing 
to  this  cause,  viz.  the  obstructed  viscera  being  swelled 
beyond  their  natural  size,  the  intestines  are  too  much 
confined,  and,  by  the  nature  of  the  aliment,  and  bad 
digestion,  being  frequently  distended  with  wind,  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  they  often  pass  through  the 
rings  of  the  abdominal  muscles. 

Worm-fevers  are  very  frequent,  and  common  to  all 
ages,  though  children  under  5  years  of  age  suffer  most, 
particularly  in  the  spring  and  beginning  of  summer. 
The  sweet  potato,  Indian  corn  or  maize,  and  pompion, 
all  much  used  in  diet,  seem  to  have  a  larger  share  of 
the  eggs  of  these  mischievous  insects,  than  the  rest  of 
the  farinaceous  or  leguminous  kind. 

When  a  fever,  in  young  people  particularly,  is  attend- 
ed with  irregular  symptoms,  and  is  of  a  longer  duration 
than  usual,  not  easily  otherwise  accounted  for,  vv^e  may 
be  assured  that  worms  are  the  cause  of  them :  In  such 
cases  I  know  of  no  medicine  more  likely  to  be  of  ser- 
vice than  the  decoction  of  pink-root,  mentioned  in  sec- 
tion II,  and  to  be  continued  till  the  disease  terminates ; 
blisters,  and  other  medicines  proper  for  particular  symp- 
toms that  may  occur,  are  not  to  be  neglected. 


512  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

The  following  form  is  a  very  good  vermifuge  :  V^  Pulv. 
Rad,  Lonicerse  (vulgo  Pink-root)  ?ss,  yEthiop.  Mineral. 
3iii.  01.  Rutge  Gatt.  xiiM.  et  divide  inxviii  Dosib.  Take 
one  every  night  and  morning.  This  dose  is  calculated 
for  children  from  5  to  8  years  of  age  ;  if  the  patient  has 
a  purging,  change  the  ^thiop.  for  the  same  quantity  of 
Ocul.  Cancrorum.  The  pink-root  has  been  long  and 
much  used  in  the  province,  as  a  vermifuge  ;  but,  when 
over-dosed,  often  occasions  alarming  and  troublesome 
giddiness  and  blindness  in  the  patient ;  a  strong  narcotic 
quality  in  it  is  the  cause  of  this,  which  may  always  be 
prevented  by  adding  some  of  the  chymical  oil  of  rue,  or 
worm-wood,  to  each  dose,  as  in  the  last  prescription. 

I  have  often  attended  to  the  following  advice  of  the 
judicious  Hoffman,  with  benefit:  "  Ad  Vermes  ex  tenui- 
bus  Intestinis  exturbandos  prodest  ante  Purgantium  et 
Specificorum  Usum,  Clysterum  ex  Melle  et  Lacte  para- 
tum  Ano  infundere  ;  ut  Bestiolse  illae,  Dulcedine  allutse, 
ex  Loculis  suis  ad  Intestina  facilius  descendant,  Asca- 
rides  se  recto  innidulantur,  Clysteres  detergentes  lacteei, 
quibus  Tanacetum,  Ruta,  Allium  vel  Scordis  Folia  in- 
cocta  sunt,  optimum  prsestant  Effectum.  Neque  minus 
turn  Temporis  Enemata  commodum  invenient  Locum, 
si  quando  verminosa  Progenies,  post  Purgationem  per 
Alvum  non  ejicitur,  quod  ssepius  usa  venit,  si  ista  in 
Cseco  Intestine,  quod  Purgans  non  valet  attingere,  Ni- 
dum  obtinet.  Emplastra  vel  Epithemata  Epigastrii  et 
Umbilici  Regione  applicanda,  ex  Absinthio,  Felle  Tauri, 
Aloe,  &c.  &c.  conflari  possunt.  E.  G.  l^  Fell,  taurin, 
3ii,  Colocyth,  pulv.  Aloes  pulv.  an.  3ii,  01.  Absinth  ^ss 
M.  ft.  et  Emplastrum,  Abdomini  applicandum." 

The  disease  called  the  lame  distemper,  is  said  to  be 
frequently  occasioned  by  the  catching  of  cold;  but, 
wherever  I  have  seen  it,  I  have  always  suspected  a 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  51^ 

venereal  or  yawish  taint.  The  disease  shows  itself  in 
spreading  corroding  ulcers  of  the  Phagedenic  kind 
(which  betray  a  great  degree  of  acrimony  in  the  blood) 
in  different  parts  of  the  body,  but  most  frequently  about 
the  fauces,  destroying,  unless  prevented  in  a  short  time, 
the  uvula  tonsillse,  &c.  &c.  Sometimes  the  first  alarm 
or  suspicion  the  patient  has  of  his  unhappy  condition  is 
by  a  perforation  in  his  palate,  without  any  other  pre- 
vious complaint ;  then  a  little  uneasiness  from  a  pimple 
as  he  imagined  it,  in  the  roof  of  his  mouth,  with  a  dry- 
ness and  disagreeable  smelt  in  his  nose  :  This  happens 
oftenest,  when  the  disease  is  hereditary,  and  the  ulcer 
soon  spreads  to  and  erodes  the  bones  of  the  nose,  to  the 
great  deformity  and  misery  of  the  patient.  When  this 
disease  makes  its  attack  on  the  fauces,  it  may  be  for  some 
time  mistaken  for  the  ulcerated  sore-throat  of  the  putrid 
kind,  very  common  in  America,  and  well  described  by 
the  two  most  excellent  physicians,  Haxham  and  Fother- 
gill ;  and  is  then  to  be  distinguished  from  it  only  by  a 
smaller  degree  of  fever,  and  not  submitting  to  the  anti- 
sceptic  medicines  commonly  given  in  the  other  with  suc- 
cess ;  but  in  a  short  time  swellings  in  the  os  frontis  tibise, 
&c.  put  the  disease  out  of  doubt. 

The  intentions,  necessary  to  be  pursued  in  the  cure  of 
this  disease,  are,  first,  to  dissolve  and  thin  the  viscid  co- 
agulated humours,  to  fit  them  for  expulsion.  Secondly, 
to  expel  them  in  the  most  efficacious  manner  ;  and,  last- 
ly, the  patient's  strength  and  health  are  to  be  recovered 
and  preserved  by  a  well-regulated  diet. 

Alternative  mercurial  medicines,  taken  for  two  or  three 
months,  will  answer  best  in  the  first  intention  ;  I  have 
found  the  solution  of  the  sublimate,  as  recommended  by 
the  Baron  Van  Swieten,  ot  the  Mercurius  Diaphoret.  jo- 
vial, of  Hoff"man,  by  much  the  best  medicines.     Here  I 

65 


614  A  DESCRIPTION    OF   SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

must  remark,  that  the  morbid  humours  in  this  disease 
are  sometimes  so  tough  and  viscid,  that  mercury  alone 
cannot  act  upon  them,  and  must  go  off,  without  any  bene- 
fit to  the  patient,  by  stool.  In  such  cases,  I  learned, 
many  years  ago,  from  the  excellent  Hoffman,  to  give  salt 
of  wormwood,  or  any  of  the  fixed  alcaline  salts,  with 
every  dose  of  mercury  ;  by  wdiose  assistance  the  latter 
obtained  an  entrance  among  the  viscid  humours,  and  sel- 
dom afterwards  frustrated  my  endeavors  for  my  patient's 
relief.  Dr.  Grainger,  in  his  Monita  Syphilica,  has  claimed 
this  manner  of  giving  mercury,  as  an  invention  of  his  own ; 
his  words  are,  "Ante  quatuor  Annos  me  Remedum  in  sale 
"Abfinthii  ad  Vires  Mercurii  in  Sanguienem  tuto, 
^^  cito,  expediundas  invenisse  gloriabar."  As  this  gen  tie- 
man  was  no  stranger  to  Hoffman's  works,  it  is  very  pos- 
sible that  he  took  the  hint  from  him  ;  vid.  obser.  3  sect. 
1  cap.  2  vol.  pag.  29,  De  Febre  Quartana,,  Fol.  Edit. 
Fred.  Hoffman.  When  the  blood  and  humours  are  suf- 
ficiently fused  or  dissolved,  and  fitted  for  expulsion,  by 
the  use  of  the  mercurial  alteratives  ;  give  the  patient  for 
eio-ht  or  ten  davs  a  decoction  of  the  woods,  in  which  sar- 
saparilla  and  China  root  should  be  principal  ingredients  ; 
this  decoction  ought  to  be  taken  in  large  quantities,  even 
until  the  patient  appears  bloated  with  it,  who  is  then  to 
he  put  into  a  sweating-box  (such  as  Ulric  and  Hutton 
used,  and  is  much  recommended  by  Boerhaave)  once  or 
twice  every  day,  if  the  patient  can  bear  it  ;  and  to  con- 
tinue in  the  box  from  8  to  15  minutes  ;  when  he  is  ta- 
ken out,  his  skin  must  be  carefully  dried  with  towels, 
rubbed  briskly  about  him  and  he  put  to  bed,  where  he 
should  drink  a  large  draught  of  the  decoction,  to  encour- 
age the  sweat  he  will  then  be  in.  During  this  course, 
the  patient  should  be  careful  of  his  diet,  abstaining  from 
all  fat,  oily,  salt  or  pickled  meats,  and  from  all  spiritu- 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  515 

ous  or  heating-  drink  ;  and,  if  possible,  confine  himself  to 
wheat  bread  well  raised,  or  biscuit  and  raisins  ;  and  his 
drink  to  be  spruce  beer,  brewed  with  melasses  ;  and  this 
should  be  pursued  with  exactness  and  perseverance, 
even  for  some  months  after  he  has  discontinued  the  use 
of  the  sweating  box  ;  which  is  not  to  be  done  till  the  ul- 
cers, wherever  they  may  be  seated,  are  healed  up,  and 
all  the  other  symptoms  of  the  disease  vanished.  If  the 
ulcers  are  in  the  throat,  they  should  be  washed  with  lime 
water  and  Mel.  Rosar.  But,  if  they  are  on  the  external 
parts  of  the  body,  they  are  to  be  dressed  daily  in  the 
common  way. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Of  the  Indian  tribes,  in  the  neighhoiirhood  of  South 
Carolina. 

It  has  long  been  a  dispute  among  the  learned,  when, 
how,  or  from  whence  America  was  peopled  ;  I  must  join 
in  opinion  with  those  who  imagine  it  was  by  emigra- 
tions from  the  northern  parts  of  Europe  sihd  Asia  ;  my 
reasons  are  the  great  similarity  of  looks  and  appear- 
ance between  Indians  and  Tartars,  and  some  customs 
that  now  prevail  among  Indians,  used  by  no  other  peo- 
ple ;  which  were  practised  by  the  Scythians,  ancestors 
of  the  Tartars,  in  the  days  of  Herodotus  ;  for  instance, 
the  scalping  of  the  heads  of  their  enemies.  Herodotus 
tells  us,  that  the  Scythians  slayed  their  enemies  heads 
by  cutting  a  circle  round  their  neck  close  under  their 
ears,  and  stripping  off  the  skin  as  they  would  do  that  of 
an  ox ;  then  they  softened  the  skins  with  their  hands, 
and  hanged  them  on  the  bridles  of  their  horses,  when 


^6      A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

^they  rode.  He  who  had  the  greatest  number  of  these 
scalps  thought  best  of  himself,  and  was  accounted  a  va- 
liant man.  The  practice  of  the  Scythian  prophets,  as 
described  by  Herodotus,  has  likewise  a  near  resem- 
blance to  that  used  at  this  day  by  the  Indian  conjuers. 

The  arrival  of  Europeans  in  this  new  world  has 
been  productive  of  the  most  ruinous  consequences  to  the 
old  inhabitants,  who  have  lost  their  ancient  habitations, 
and  the  best  of  their  lands,  either  by  the  force  of  arms, 
or  of  trifling  presents  made  to  them  ;  but  this  is  not  all 
their  misfortune.  The  new  comers  have  introduced 
among  them  many  vices  and  numerous  diseases,  the 
consequences  of  vice,  all  formerly  unknown  to  them  ; 
by  which  many  populous  tribes  are  already  extinct,  and 
their  very  names  forgot  ;  the  few  that  remain  daily  de- 
crease in  their  numbers,  a  circumstance  that  gives  them 
much  concern,  however  agreeable  it  may  be  to  the  self- 
ish and  all-grasping  Europeans. 

■^  The  Indians,  on  this  part  of  the  continent,  are  of  a 
dark  olive  complexion,  with  open  countenances  and  good 
features  ;  they  are  generally  tall,  lean,  and  acti\'e,  but 
not  strong  ;  and  may  be  compared  rather  to  beasts  of 
prey  than  to  those  of  burthen  ;  they  are  easily  provoked 
to  anger  and  of  impetuous  dispositions,  and  will  not  soon 
forgive  or  forget  injuries,  though  very  capable  of  grati- 
tude, even  to  a  romantic  pitch,  to  their  friends  and  bene- 
factors. Their  hair  is  always  black,  without  curls  ;  the 
men  cut  and  dress  theirs  with  beads  and  other  ornaments 
in  various  shapes,  by  which  the  tribes  easily  distinguish 
one  another.  In  those  I  have  seen,  there  is  but  little  di- 
versity with  respect  to  complexion,  manners,  or  customs ; 
their  languages  are  very  scanty,  yet  some  of  them  have 

*  Vide  Mr.  De  la  Condamine's  voyage  to  South- America. 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  517 

an  energy,  and  are  susceptible  of  elegance,  particularly 
the  Creek  language  ;  but  all  of  them  want  terms  to  ex- 
press abstract  and  general  ideas,  which  is  an  evident 
proof  of  the  little  improvement  of  the  understanding 
among  them  ;  time,  duration,  space,  substance,  matter, 
body,  and  many  such  words,  have  nothing  equivalent  in 
their  languages  ;  not  only  those  of  a  metaphysical,  but 
likewise  those  of  a  moral  nature,  cannot  be  rendered  in- 
to their  tongue,  but  imperfectly,  and  by  a  circumlocu- 
tion ;  they  have  no  words  that  correspond  exactly  to 
those  of  virtue,  justice,  liberty,  gratitude,  ingratitude, 
&c.  They  generally  live  in  small  bodies,  few  of  their 
towns  containing  above  100  men  ;  and  enjoy  great  liber- 
ty, which  must  be  the  case  of  all  people  who  depend  on 
hunting,  and  not  on  the  cultivation  of  the  earth  for  sub- 
sistence. Their  institutions  may  rather  be  called  cus- 
toms than  laws  ;  there  are  very  few  religious  ceremo- 
nies or  mysteries  in  use  among  them  ;  and  it  is  observ- 
able, that  the  tribes  nearest  to  our  settlements,  and  with 
whom  we  have  the  freest  communication,  have  still  few- 
er than  the  others.  To  the  shame  of  the  Christian 
name,  no  pains  has  ever  been  taken  to  convert  them  to 
Christianity,  on  the  contrary,  their  morals  are  perverted 
and  corrupted,  by  the  sad  examples  they  daily  have  of 
its  depraved  professors  residing  in  their  towns.  Po- 
lygamy is  permitted  among  them  ;  yet  few  have  more 
than  one  wife  at  a  time,  possibly  on  account  of  the  ex- 
pence  of  supporting  them  ;  for  be  is  accounted  a  good 
gunsman  that  provides  well  for  one  ;  besides,  the  In- 
dians are  not  of  an  amorous  complexion.  It  is  common 
with  them  however  to  repudiate  their  wives,  if  disobliged 
by  them,  or  tired  of  them  ;  the  rejected  woman,  if  with 
child,  generally  revenges  herself  for  the  affront  by  taking 


518  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

herbs  to  procure  an  abortion,  an  operation  that  destroys 
many  of  them,  and  greatly  contributes^  to  depopulate 
them.  They  purchase  powder,  ball,  and  other  necessa- 
ries from  our  traders,  with  deer,  bear,  and  other  skins, 
having  no  money  among  them. 

The  following  observations  of  Baron  Montesquieu  are 
truly  characteristic  of  Indians :  "  That,  when  a  people 
have  not  the  use  of  money,  they  are  seldom  acquainted 
with  any  other  injustice  than  that  which  springs  from 
violence,  and  the  weak,  by  uniting,  defend  themselves 
from  its  effects  :  they  have  nothing  there  but  political  re- 
gulations. But,  where  money  is  established,  they  are 
subject  to  that  injustice  which  proceeds  from  craft,  an 
injustice  that  may  be  exercised  a  thousand  ways  :  Their 
successful  warriors,  and  old  men  that  remember  things 
past,  have  great  authority ;  none  can  be  distinguished 
among  them  but  by  wisdom  and  valour." — Spirit  of 
Laws.  To  these  I  must  add,  that  the  Indian  nations 
will  not  allow  themselves  to  be  subjects  of  Britain,  but 
the  friends  and  brethren  of  the  English ;  certain  it  is 
that  they  are  not  subject  to  our  laws  ;  that  they  have  no 
magistrates  appointed  over  them  by  our  kings ;  that 
they  have  no  representatives  in  our  assemblies :  that 
their  own  consent  is  necessarv  to  eng-age  them  in  war  on 
our  side ;  and  that  they  have  the  power  of  life  and 
death,  peace  and  war,  in  their  own  councils,  without 
being  accountable  to  us;  subjection  iS'  what  they  are 
imacquainted  with  in  their  own  state,  there  being  no 
such  thing  as  coercive  power  among  them :  Their  chiefs 
are  such  only  in  virtue  of  their  credit,  and  not  their 
power  :  there  being,  in  all  other  circumstances,  a  perfect 
equality  among  them. 

The  tribes  I  shall  particularly  mention  are  the  Cataw- 
bas,  Cherokees,  Creeks,  and  Chickesaws. 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  519 

The  Catawbas  have  been  long  in  our  interest ;  many 
of  them  joined  our  forces  acting  on  the  Ohio,  in  the 
campaigns  against  Fort  Duquesne,  till  it  was  reduced ; 
there  they  unluckily  got  the  small-pox,  and  carried  the 
infection  home  with  them,  which  has  almost  extirpated 
this  little  nation  ;  the  few  men  that  survived  served  in 
Colonel  Grant's  army  in  the  last  expedition  against  the 
Cherokees :  They  live  about  250  miles  North  of 
Charles-town,  and  are  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  our 
plantations. 

The  nearest  settlement  of  the  Cherokees  is  about 
320  miles  distant.  North-west,  frc(m  Charles-town.  This 
Tribe  inhabits  one  of  the  healthiest  and  most  beautiful 
countries  in  the  world,  in  four  diyisions  among  the  Apa- 
lachian  mountains ;  and,  before  t|ieir  last  war  with  Caro- 
lina, they  had  40  villages  or  towns,  containing  about 
lOjOOO'souls,  of  which  about '2000  were  warriors,  or 
men  able  to  go  to  war.  Theyjhave  been  generally  ac- 
counted inferior,  in  point  of  courage,  to  their  neigh- 
bours ;  but,  I  believe,  withouf  sufficient  reason.  This 
tribe,  with  some  others,  were  ^t  war  with  this  colony  in 
the  year  1715  ;  in  the  year  following  peace  was  made 
with  them,  which  continued  fill  1759,  when  it  was  inter- 
rupted in  the  following  manner :  In  the  beginning  of 
the  last  war  with  France,  th^  Cherokees,  then  hearty  in 
our  interest,  sent,  at  differe|it  times,  three  or  four  hun- 
dred men  to  the  assistance  ^f  our  forces  intended  against 
Fort-Duquesne  In  their  return  home  from  the  campaign 
of  1758,  they  lost  many  of  their  horses,  and  without  ce- 
remony, made  use  of  suchj  stray  ones  as  fell  in  their  way, 
travelling  through  the  West  frontiers  of  Virginia ;  and 
this  they  imagined  to  be  no  crime,  as  they  saw  it  fre- 
quently practised  by  the  white  men  among  them  :  How- 
ever, it  was  resented,  and  punished  with  much  severity 


520  A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA* 

bj  some  of  the  inhaliitants  of  that  province,  who  attack- 
ed small  parties  of  the  unsuspecting  Indians,  killing  at 
different  times  about  12  or  14  of  them;  the  savao-es 
were  not  backward  in  taking  satisfaction  for  their  slain 
countrymen;  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  a  war, 
which,  in  the  sequel,  was  the  occasion  of  much  expence 
and  trouble  to  this  province.  There  is  no  acquitting  those 
people  who  attacked  the  Cherokees  of  ingratitude  :  The 
Indians  had  been  to  war  in  their  defence,  neglecting 
their  hunting  season,  (to  them  iheir  harvest)  and  subject- 
ing themselves  to  all  the  inconveniences  and  dangers 
attending  a  long  marci  of  1000  or  1200  miles,  out  and 
home:  Besides  this,  the  Indians  had  many  other  griev- 
ances to  complain  of,  particularly  against  the  traders 
residing  among  them,  licensed  by  different  colonies.  I 
have  had  occasion  to  know  some  of  those  fellows,  and 
must  own,  that,  generally  speaking,  they  are  a  shame  to 
humanity,  and  the  disgrace  of  Christianity  ;  by  their  in- 
iquitous and  foolish  conduct,  they  changed  the  idea  of  su- 
perior valour,  honour,  anddiscretion,  the  Indians  had  been 
used  to  form  of  the  English,  into  a  general  contempt 
and  dislike.  The  savages  daily  saw  themselves  cheat- 
ed in  weight  and  measure:  their  women  debauched,  and 
their  young  men  corrupted:  These  wrongs  and  insults 
were  made  the  most  of  bj  French  emissaries  amongst 
them,  who  took  much  pains,  with  success  enough,  to 
alienate  their  affections  from  the  English.  The  Chero- 
kees, in  carrying  on  the  quarrel  against  Virginia,  were 
soon  involved  in  war  with  ttie  neia-hbourino-  colonies  : 
Their  war-parties,  sent  against  that  colony,  being  unac- 
quainted with  its  Southward  bounds,  frequently  com- 
mitted murders  in  North-Carolina,  and  once  scalped  a 
woman  and  her  child  on  Broad-River,  in  this  province, 
(who,  by  the  bye,  both  got  to  Charles-town  and  recov- 


A.  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  521 

ered.)  Towards  the  end  of  summer,  1759,  v/e  had 
accounts,  that  the  upper  Cherokees,  and  the  garrison  of 
Fort-Loudon,  were  at  variance,  and  that  the  Indians 
seemed  resolved  to  starve  them ;  and  that  a  packhorse- 
man  was  actually  killed  in  the  nation.  This  govern- 
ment, being  justly  oifended  at  these  insults,  began  in 
September  to  make  preparations  to  put  a  stop  to  them, 
and  to  resent  them.  The  Cherokees  were  informed  of 
this,  and  immediately  there  came  to  Charles-town  the 
greatest  number  of  head-men,  that  had  ever,  at  one  time, 
left  the  nation,  to  endeavour  to  pacify  the  governor,  and 
to  prevent  a  war,  if  possible,  with  South  Carohna : 
They  arrived,  on  the  20th  of  October,  with  full  reso- 
lution to  give  every  satisfaction  in  their  power,  for  what 
mischief  their  young  men,  for  it  w^as  all  laid  on  them, 
might  have  done  to  us.  The  governor,  in  a  few  days, 
met  them  in  the  council-chamber,  and,  among  other 
things,  told  them,  "  That  he  was  well  acquainted  with 
all  the  acts  of  hostility  they  had  been  guilty  of,  and 
likewise  those  they  intended  against  the  English,  and 
enumerated  some  of  them ;  and  then  added,  that  he 
would  soon  be  in  their  country  with  an  army,  and,  when 
there,  would  let  them  know  his  demands,  and  the  satis- 
faction he  required,  which  he  certainly  would  take,  if 
they  then  refused  it :  as  they  came  to  Charles-Town  to 
treat  with  him  as  friends,  they  should  go  home  with 
safety,  and  not  a  hair  of  their  head  should  be  touched ; 
but,  as  he  had  a  great  many  warriors  in  arms,  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  province,  he  could  not  be  answerable 
for  what  might  happen  to  them,  unless  they  marched 
with  his  army."  Occonostota,  dignified  and  distinguish- 
ed by  the  name  of  Great  Warrior  of  the  Nation,  and 
principal  of  this  party  of  chiefs,  and  then  a  hearty  friend 
to  the  English,  began  to  give  a  talk  to  the  governor ;  but 

66 


522  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

he,  being  resolved  that  nothing  should  prevent  his  mili- 
tary expedition,  quitted  his  seat,  declaring  the  confer- 
ence to  be  ended,  and  that  he  would  hear  nothing  they 
had  to  say  in  their  defence,  nor  any  proposals  from 
them,  though  much  urged  to  it  by  Lieutenant-Governor 
Bull.  -  It  is  certain  that,  at  this  time,  he  might  have  gain- 
ed from  the  Cherokees  greater  concessions  than  were 
afterwards  obtained  at  a  great  expence,  and  have  like- 
wise preserved  the  friendship  of  the  chiefs  of  the  nation, 
who  became  troublesome  enemies,  and  will  never  more 
trust  our  promises. 

A  fev/  days  after  this  conference,  Mr.  Lyttleton  set 
out  for  the  Congarees,  140  miles  North-west  from 
Charles-town,  the  place  of  rendezvous  for  the  militia ; 
where,  by  the  10th  of  November,  he  mustered  together 
about  1400  men,  of  which  number,  50  were  gentlemen 
of  fortune,  serving  as  volunteers,  formed  into  a  compa- 
ny ;  50  regulars,  from  the  independent  companies ; 
about  100  provincials ;  the  others  were  draughts  from 
the  militia  regiments. 

The  Indian  chiefs  who  had  consented  to  march  with 
the  armj,  left  Charles-town,  October  26th,  v/ith  the  re- 
gulars and  provincials,  and  behaved  very  quietly,  and, 
to  appearance,  with  content,  to  the  Congarees  ;  where 
we  arrived  November  the  7th,  when  the  Indians  were 
all  made  prisoners,  very  unexpectedly ;  a  captain's 
guard  was  mounted  over  them,  and  in  this  manner  they 
were  afterwards  marched  to  Fort-Prince  George  ;  for 
which  I  never  heard  any  reason  given,  but  believe  the  true 
one  to  be,  that  the  officer,  who  commanded  at  Fort-Prince 
George,  had  informed  the  governor,  that  the  Indians 
would  certainly  fight  him,  if  they  permitted  the  head- 
men, then  with  him,  to  get  to  their  country  before  him ; 
an  issue  he  would  now  gladly  avoid,  as  he  found  the 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.       523 

militia  of  his  army  ill-armed,  undisciplined,  and,  with 
some  reason,  discontented  and  mntinous.  Be  this  as  it 
will,  he  confined  32  head-men  in  a  small  hut  in  Fort- 
Prince  George,  on  our  arrival,  December  the  10th,  at 
that  place  ;  and  dismissed  the  inferior  sort,  with  the 
women  and  children.  Soon  after  we  left  the  Congarees, 
Mr.  Lyttleton  dispatched  a  messenger  to  the  Upper 
Cherokees,  to  desire  Attakullakulla,  or,  as  the  English 
name  him,  the  Little  Carpenter,  accounted  the  most  sen- 
sible man  among  them,  to  meet  him  at  the  Fort.  Agree- 
able to  this  invitation,  he  came  to  our  camp,  on  the  17th 
of  December.  He  was  just  returned  from  a  war  party 
against  the  French,  and  brought  in  with  him  several 
scalps  and  prisoners  :  one  of  the  last  he  presented  to 
the  governor,  who  appointed  the  next  day  for  a  confer- 
ence, and  then  "put  Attakullakulla  in  mind  of  the 
several  treaties  that  had  been  made  between  the  Eng- 
lish and  Cherokees ;  of  the  kindness  of  the  first  to  the 
other,  on  many  occasions;  then  informed  him  of  the 
glorious  successes  of  the  English  against  their  enemies, 
in  all  parts  of  the  world.  He  next  mentioned  many  out- 
rages said  to  have  been  committed  by  the  Cherokees  on 
the  inhabitants  of  South  Carolina,  and  added,  that  he 
was  come  to  their  country  with  an  army,  to  obtain  satis- 
faction ;  and  that  he  demanded  24  Cherokees  to  be  de- 
livered up  to  him,  tp  be  put  to  death,  or  otherwise  dis- 
posed of  as  he  should  direct ;  and  that  he  expected,  that 
those  given  up  should  be  such  as  had  committed  tres- 
passes on  the  English." 

The  Little  Carpenter's  answer  to  the  Governor  v^as 
to  the  following  effect :  "  That  he  remembered  the 
treaties  mentioned  to  him,  as  he  had  a  share  in  making 
them ;  he  owned  the  kindness  of  the  province  of  South- 
Carolina,  but  complained  much  of  the  treatment  his 


524  A  DESCRIPTION  OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

countrymen  received  in  Virginia ;  which,  he  said,  was 
the  immediate  cause  of  our  present  misunderstanding : 
That  he  had  always  been  the  firm  friend  of  the  Enghsh, 
of  which,  he  hoped,  his  late  fatiguing  march,  against 
their  enemies  the  French,  was  a  sufficient  proof:  That 
he  would  ever  continue  such,  and  would  use  all  the  in- 
fluence he  had,  to  persuade  his  countrymen  to  give  the 
Governour  the  satisfaction  he  demanded,  though  he  be- 
lieved it  neither  would,  nor  could  be  complied  with,  as 
they  had  no  coercive  power  over  one  another ;  he  desir- 
ed the  Governor  to  release  some  of  the  head-men,  then 
confined  in  the  fort,  to  assist  him. ;  and  added,  that  he 
was  pleased  to  hear  of  the  successes  of  his  brothers  the 
Enghsh,  but  could  not  help  mentioning,  that  they  shew- 
ed more  resentment  againt  the  Cherokees,  than  they 
used  to  other  Indian  nations  who  had  disobhged  them : 
That  he  remembered  some  years  ago,  several  white  peo- 
ple belonging  to  Carolina,  were  killed  by  the  Chactaws, 
for  whom  no  satisfaction  had  been  either  given  or  de- 
manded. 

Upon  the  application  of  the  Carpenter,  Mr.  Lyttelton 
released  Occonostota  already  mentioned;  Fiftoe',  chief 
man  of  Keowee-town ;  and  the  head-warrior  of  Estaloe' ; 
and  next  day  they  delivered  up  two  men  to  the  Gover- 
nor, one  of  whom  was  the  person  who  had  scalped  the 
woman  and  child  before  taken  notice  of  This  alarmed 
all  the  Cherokees,  who  knew  their  connections  to  be 
weak,  and  who  immediately  got  out  of  the  way  :  The 
Little  Carpenter,  being  convinced  after  this,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  complete  the  number  demanded,  resolved 
to  go  home,  and  patiently  await  the  event;  and  was 
several  miles  on  his  road,  when  the  Governor  was  in- 
formed of  it,  who  was  equally  alarmed  and  uneasy  :  He 
was  now  very  desirous  to  finish  the  campaign  with  as 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  525 

much  credit  as  possible,  and  to  return  to  Charles-town, 
with  the  appearance  at  least  of  a  conqueror ;    and  this 
could  not  be  done  without  AttakuUakulla's  assistance 
and  concurrence ;    he  therefore  dispatched  Lieutenant 
Coytmore,   on  the  25th  of  December,  after  him,  to  de- 
sire him  to  return  to  the  camp ;  which  he  readily  did, 
the  next  day  about  11  o'clock  A.  M.  and  at  4  P.  M.  we 
were   informed,  that  a  peace  was  concluded,   or  rather 
renewed,  with  the  Indians ;  for  as  yet  there  had  been 
no  blood  drawn  on  either  side  :  This  treaty  was  signed, 
on   the  part  of  the  Indians,  by  AttakullakuUa  and  a 
warrior  from  the  Overhill  Cherokees,   who  came  with 
him ;  and  by  four  others  of  those  that  haxi  been  con- 
fined, for  which,  they  and  a  few  more  got  their  liberty. 
The  Governor,  impowered  by  one   of  the  articles,    de- 
tained 22  of  those  confined,  as  hostages,  till  their  na- 
tion should  complete  the  number  demanded  as  crimi- 
nals ;    this  was  said  to  have  been  done  with  their  own 
consent,    but,    as    they   were    prisoners,    they    could 
have  no  free  choice;  and,  if  they  must  remain  such,  it 
was  of  little  moment  to  them  under  what  denomination 
they   were  kept :    About  this  time  another  Indian  was 
delivered  up,  for  whom  one  of  the  hostages  was  releas- 
ed; these  three  follows,  given  up  by  their  countrymen^ 
were  carried  to  Charles-town,  where  they  died  in  con- 
finement.    On  the   29th  of  December,   the  small-pox 
appeared  in   our  camp  ;  it  had  raged  for  some  time  be- 
fore our  arrival  in  the  Indian  town,  and  killed  almost 
every  one  it  attacked.     Mr.  Lyttelton  took  many  pre- 
cautions to   prevent   the  infection  spreading  into  our 
army,  which  was  incamped  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
opposite  to  and  near  Keowee  ;  among  other  means  of 
prevention,  the  Governor  desired  the  Indians  to  barn  the 
houses  and  cloaths  of  those  who  had  died  of  it ;  which 
was  complied  with ;  but,  in  my  opinion,  it  hurried  the 


526  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

disease  among  us,  by  the  smoke  driving  the  infectious 
particles  tovv'ards  us.  Dr.  Mead,  in  his  Essay  on  the 
Plague,  informs  us,  "  That,  at  Skip  ton,  a  little  town 
upon  the  river  Stour,  in  Worcestershire,  a  poor  vaga- 
bond was  seen  walking  in  the  streets,  with  the  small- 
pox upon  him;  the  people,  frightened,  took  care  to  have 
him  carried  to  a  little  house  at  some  distance  from  the 
town,  providing  him  with  necessaries.  In  a  few  days 
the  man  died;  they  ordered  him  to  be  buried  deep  in 
the  ground,  and  his  house  and  deaths  to  be  burnt ;  the 
Vv'ind  blew  the  smoke  upon  the  houses  on  one  side  of 
the  town;  in  that  part,  some  days  after,  eight  persons 
were  seized  with  the  small-pox  :  so  dangerous  is  heat 
in  all  kinds  of  pestilential  disorders,  and  so  diffusive 
of  contagion." 

As  very  few  in  our  little  army  had  gone  through  the 
small-pox,  and  being  every  way  unprovided  for  such  an 
accident;  all  immediately  separated  to  return  to  the  settle- 
ments, dreading  and  avoiding  any  intercourse  with  one 
another;  and  suffered  much  from  hunger  :  The  Gover- 
nour  followed  next  day,  and  arrived  in  Charles-town, 
January  8,  1760 ;  where  he  was  received  as  a  conqueror, 
with  illuminations,  bonefires,  and  addresses  from  every 
society  and  profession ;  such  as  the  intripidity  of  a 
Wolfe,  or  the  gallant  and  exemplary  behaviour  of  a 
Lord  Howe,  or  such  like,  could  only  deserve :  The  pro- 
priety of  their  application  to  Mr.  Lyttelton,  on  this  oc- 
casion, I  leave  to  the  reader's  judgment. 

This  expedition,  which  cost  the  province  about  25,000/. 
sterling,  and  from  which  much  greater  things  had  been 
expected,  only  increased  the  ill-humour  of  the  Chero- 
kees,  who  received  many  insults  during  the  course  of 
it,  which  converted  their  desire  of  peace  into  a  rage  for 
war :  No  notice  was  taken  of  the  many  grievances  and 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.       527 

oppressions  they  had  to  complain  of;  and,  to  convince 
them  that  no  redress  was  intended,  a  person  they  knew 
to  be  their  enemy,  and  had  too  much  reason  to  disUke, 
was  left  to  command  the  fort,  from  whom  they  expected 
every  insult  and  mortification  in  his  power ;  but  what 
they  resented  above  all  was  the  imprisoning  of  their 
head-men,  contrary  to  natural  right,  national  justice,  and 
the  promises  made  to  them  in  Charles-town ;  for  these 
reasons,  before  the  end  of  January,  they  attacked  the 
house  of  a  trader,  about  a  mile  from  Fort-Prince-George, 
w^here  they  killed  about  14  white  men ;  and  they  made 
several  -unsuccessful  attempts  to  surprise  the  fort,  and 
release  their  friends  confined  there. 

They  next  contrived  the  foUov/ing  stratagem,  to  de- 
stroy the  commanding  ofiScer,  which  succeeded  too  well: 
Occonostota,  about  the  middle  of  February,  sent  an 
Indian  woman,  whom  he  knew  to  be  always  made  wel- 
come at  the  fort,  to  tell  the  commanding  officer,  that  he 
had  something  of  consequence  to  communicate  to  him, 
and  would  be  glad  to  speak  with  him  at  the  river-side ; 
this  gentleman  imprudently  consented,  and  was  shot  at, 
and  mortally  wounded,  while  talking  with  the  Warrior, 
by  a  party  of  Indians,  who  had  been  hid  among  the 
bushes  for  this  base  purpose  :  To  revenge  this,  the  sol- 
diers of  the  garrison  were  permitted  to  kill  the  innocent 
and  unfortunate  prisoners,  called  hostages;  who  were 
butchered  to  death,  in  a  manner  too  shocking  to  relate. 
By  this  massacre,  for  I  can  give  it  no  softer  name,  most 
of  the  head-warriors  lost  relations  and  friends,  which 
fi.red  them  with  an  implacable  desire  of  revenge ;  they 
set  out  immediately  in  small  partiess  against  the  settle- 
ment-s,  and  their  vengeance  fell,  with  a  merciless  and 
heavy  hand,  on  the  innocent  and  defenceless  planters : 
Many  men,   women,   and  children,  were  barbarously 


528  A   DESCRIPTION    OF   SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

killed ;  many  who  fled  into  the  woods,  for  safety,  lost 
themselves  and  miserably  perished,  and  a  considerable 
number  were  carried  into  captivity,  suffering  every  spe- 
cies of  distress  a  savage  and  provoked  enemy  could  in- 
flict upon  them ;  the  luckiest,  who  escaped  the  Indians 
and  gained  the  lower  settlements,  were  reduced,  from 
affluence,  plenty  and  independence,  to  poverty,  beggary 
and  want.  This  desolation  extended  upwards  of  100 
miles ;  every  hour  brought  to  Charles-town  accounts  of 
ravages,  depredations,  scalpings  and  ruin ;  the  unhappy 
sufferers  calling  aloud  for  assistance  and  support;  but 
alas !  the  province  (distressed  by  the  expences  of  the 
late  expedition,  and  at  the  same  time  afflicted  with  the 
small-pox,  of  which  dangerous  disease  no  less  than  4000 
then '  lay  ill  in  Charles-town)  was  unable  of  itself  to 
manage  this  war,  unwisely  brought  upon  us. 

The  Governor  applied  to  General  Amherst  for  assist- 
ance, who  immediately  ordered  1200  choice  men,  under 
the  command  "of  the  Honourable  Colonel  Montgomery ; 
this  gallant  officer  arrived  in  April,  and  marched  directly 
towards  the  Indians;  and  on  the  1st  of  June,  by  a  very 
spirited  and  unusual  march  of  60  miles,  without  halting 
to  sleep,  reached  and  surprised  the  lower  towns,  burnt 
them  all,  took  about  40  prisoners,  and  drove  the  rest  to 
seek  for  shelter  and  subsistence  among  the  other  divi- 
sions. The  Colonel  rested  his  men  some  time  after 
this,  at  Fort-Prince  George,  and  then  proceeded  to  give 
the  Indians  further  chastisement:  He  penetrated  into 
their  middle  settlements,  but  was  attacked  on  his  march 
by  a  large  body  of  Indians,  who  had  taken  possession 
of  a  very  advantageous  post  on  his  road,  from  which  he 
drove  them  with  difficulty ;  they  killed  and  wounded 
about  100  of  his  men,  on  whose  account  he  was  obliged 
to  return  to  the  settlement :  for  his  party,  being  only  in- 


A  DESCRIPTION   OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA,  529 

tended  for  a  coup  de  main,  was  not  provided  with  tools 
to  form  posts  for  the  wounded.  Some  time  in  July  he 
received  General  Amherst's  orders  to  embark  for  New- 
York,  which  he  did  about  the  middle  of  August,  leaving 
four  companies  of  the  Royal  Scots  to  guard  our  western 
frontiers,  if  the  Indians  should  be  hardy  enough,  after 
the  drubbing  they  had  received,  to  commit  any  further 
insults. 

About  this  time  the  unhappy  garrison  of  Fort-Loudon, 
which  consisted  of  a  detachment  of  ]  00  men  from  his 
Majesty's  independent  companies,  and  about  as  many 
provincials,  v^^as  reduced  to  the  deplorable  alternative  of 
starving-  in  their  fort,  or  submittinor  themselves  to  the 
mercy  of  the  Indians;  they  had  long  struggled  with  un- 
common hardships,  their  only  food  for  some  months  past 
being  poor  horse-flesh,  and  that  in  a  small  quantity, 
with  vv^hat  vegetables  they  could  pick  up  within  the 
fort ;  but  now  even  these  were  consumed,  and  no  ap- 
pearance of  relief  from  any  quarter :  By  the  address  of 
Captain  Stuart  of  the  Provincials,  they  made  a  capitu- 
lation with  the  savages,  to  whom  they  agreed  to  deliver 
up  the  fort,  with  the  stores,  cannon,  and  part  of  the  am- 
munition; part  they  were  allowed  to  carry  with  them. 
The  Cherokees  promised  to  protect  them  on  their  march 
to  the  nearest  English  settlement,  and  to  hunt  for  their 
subsistence ;  but  this  they  perfidiously  broke,  and  early 
on  the  morning  of  August  the  9th,  the  second  day  of 
their  march,  they  attacked  the  garrison  with  great  num- 
bers ;  but  after  killing  26  or  29,  including  all  the  officers, 
except  Captain  Stuart,  (who  was  carried  by  force,  by 
some  friendly  Indians,  from  the  rest)  the  savages  stopt 
their  slaughtering  hands ;  they  intended  this  as  a  satis- 
faction for  the  Fort-Prince-George  massacre,  and  wanted 
to  kill  only  a  number  of  whites  equal  to  what  their  na- 

67 


530  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

tion  lost  there ;  the  survivors  were  all  carried  into  cap- 
tivity, and  were  afterwards  redeemed,  at  a  great  expence, 
hj  the  Province.  Our  people  were  so  weakened  and 
dispmted  by  famine  and  fatigue,  that  they  made  no  re- 
sistance; besides  the  attack  was  unexpected,  and  so 
soon  over,  that  they  had  no  time  to  recollect  themselves, 
or  to  form  any  plan  for  their  defence. 

Fort-Loudon  was  built  in  1756,  and  is  seated  on  the 
Tanassee  river,  in  the  Upper  Cherokees,  upwards  of 
500  miles  from  Charles-town ;  where  it  is  impossible,  in 
time  of  war,  to  support  or  relieve  it,  if  the  Indians  chuse 
to  oppose  us,  without  an  army  too  large  to  be  subsisted 
at  so  great  a  distance  from  the  settlements,  on  account 
of  the  very  long  and  difficult  land  carriage  :  Mr.  Lyttel- 
ton  could  not  help  observing  this,  while  he  was  at  Fort- 
Prince-George  ;  when  he  was  often  put  in  mind  of  draw- 
ing off  the  Fort-Loudon  garrison,  which  at  that  time 
might  have  been  easily  effected,  but  he  always  refused 
it. 

This  conduct  of  the  Cherokees  convinced  us,  that  they 
were  not  yet  heartily  disposed  for  peace ;  Lieutenant 
Governor  Bull,  who  now  happily  presided  in  the  Go- 
vernment, applied  once  more  to  General  Amherst  for 
assistance.  The  General  sent  Colonel  James  Grant 
with  about  1000  soldiers.  The  Province  exerted  itself 
very  considerably;  a  new  provincial  regiment  was  rais- 
ed; the  Rangers  were  regimented,  and  both  put  under 
the  command  of  the  Colonel,  who  marched  towards  the 
enemy,  as  soon  as  the  necessary  number  of  carriages  was 
provided.  He  entered  the  Cherokee  country  some  time 
in  May,  1761 ;  and  in  the  beginning  of  June  was  attacked 
by  a  large  party  of  Indians,  near  the  same  place  where 
they  fought  Colonel  Montgomery  the  year  before;  he 
easily  dispersed  them,  and  marched  into  their  middle  set- 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  531 

tlements,  where  he  destroyed  15  towns,  with  all  their 
growing  crop  of  provisions ;  and  continued  30  days  in 
the  heart  of  their  country,  without  any  opposition.  It 
must  be  owned,  that  the  Indians  poorly  defended  their 
country,  which  is  all  mountainous,  where  a  few  resolute 
men  might  easily  defend  themselves  against  any  num- 
ber, and  are  attacked  with  great  hazard.  Colonel  Grant 
returned  to  Fort-Prince-George,  sometime  in  July;  and 
incamped  there  to  wdit  the  effects  of  this  last  chastise- 
ment. The  Indians  now  despaired  of  help  from  the 
French,  who  had  flattered  them  with  hopes  of  assist- 
ance; and,  being  heartily  tired  of  the  war,  in  which 
they  had  suffered  much,  and  w^ere  generally  worsted, 
they  sued  for  peace,  which  was  given  them  on  terms 
very  advantageous  to  the  Province,  and  to  the  honour  of 
Cdlonel  Grant,  by  the  Lieutenant  Governor. 

The  Creek  is  the  next  nation  to  us,  in  point  of  dis- 
tance ;  they  have  two  divisions,  called  Upper  and  Lower; 
the  last  about  400  miles,  the  other  500  distant  S.  W 
from  Charles-town  ;  they  inhabit  a  very  fine  country,  ex- 
tremely well  watered,  and  have  something  more  than 
2000  gunmen :  They  are  politic,  warlike,  and  jealous  of 
their  independence:  and  play  an  artful  game  between 
the  English,  French,  and  Spaniards,  they  are  much 
courted  by  these  European  nations ;  they  make  the  most 
of  us,  and  are  not  insensible  of  the  importance  of  their 
friendship,  particularly  in  time  of  war  :  They  have  lately 
insulted  and  killed  several  Carolina  traders,  for  which 
no  satisfaction  has  been  3i^et  given  or  demanded.  The 
late  treaty  of  peace  with  France  and  Spain,  by  the  ces- 
sion of  all  Florida  and  part  of  Louisiana  to  Britain,  has 
given  us  a  great  advantage  over  this  Indian  tribe,  who 
may  very  easily  be  attacked  from  Mobile,  A^hich  is  not 
150  miles  from  the  heart  of  their  country,  and  has  water 
'carriage  all  the  way. 


532  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

The  last  tribe  I  have  to  take  notice  of  is  the  Chicke- 
saws,  the  faithful  friends  and  constant  allies  of  the 
English ;  they  live  between  6  and  700  miles,  due  west^ 
distant  from  Charles-town,  near  the  banks  of  the  Missis- 
sippi ;  thej  have  justly  obtained  the  character  of  the 
most  warlike  of  Indians  known  to  us;  and  have,  in  de- 
fence of  their  liberty,  maintained  a  constant  war  against 
the  whole  force  of  the  French  in  Louisiana,  since  their 
settling  in  it ;  they  have  often  met  this  European  people 
in  open  fields,  have  fought  and  beat  them ;  they  are  at 
present  greatly  lessened  in  their  number  by  this  perpe- 
tual war,  and  have  but  one  town,  and  about  300  gun- 
men: They  speak  the  same  language  with  the  Chac- 
taws,  who  a.cknowledge  the  Chickesaws  to  be  their  elder 
brothers.  Tliis  Province  is  kind  to  them,  and  supports 
them,  as  well  as  the  great  distance  will  permit ;  it  is  but 
just  to  say,  that  they  deserve  every  service  in  our  power, 
nor  can  we  do  too  much  for  such  bold  and  steady  de- 
fenders of  liberty,  a  character  Britons  are  proud  to  be 
distinguished  by :  They  assisted  us  in  the  late  Cherokee 
war. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
Of  Indigo. 

The  following  directions,  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
indigo  plant,  and  extracting  the  dye  from  it,  were  sent 
to  me  by  an  ingenious  planter,  who  has  long  practised 
them  with  success : 

''  As  the  quantity  and  quality  of  indigo  greatly  depend 
on  the  cultivation  of  the  plant,  it  is  proper  to  observe, 
that  it  seems  to  thrive  best  in  a  rich  light  soil,  unmixt 
with  clay  or  sand ;  the  ground  t^  be  planted  should  be 


A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  533 

ploughed,  or  turned  up  with  hoes,  some  time  in  Decem- 
ber, that  the  frost  may  render  it  rich  and  mellow ;  it 
must  also  be  well  harrowed,  and  cleansed  from  all  grass, 
roots,  stumps  of  trees,  &c.  to  facilitate  the  hoeing,  after 
the  weed  appears  above  ground.  The  next  thing  to  be 
considered  is  the  choice  of  seed,  in  whicli  the  planter 
should  be  very  nice ;  there  is  great  variety  of  it,  and 
from  every  sort  good  indigo  may  be  made,  but  none  an- 
swers so  well  in  this  colony  as  the  true  Guatimala ; 
which,  if  good,  is  a  small,  oblong  black  seed,  very  bright 
and  full,  and,  when  rubbed  in  the  hand,  will  appear  as 
if  finely  polished. 

"  We  generally  begin  to  plant  here,  about  the  begin- 
ning of  April,  in  the  following  manner:  The  ground  (be- 
ing well  prepared)  is  to  be  furrowed  with  a  drill-plough 
or  hoe,  2  inches  deep,  to  receive  the  seed,  and  at  18 
iilches  distant  from  each  other;  the  seed  must  be  sown 
regularly  in  these  trenches,  and  not  very  thick ;  then 
lightly  covered  with  earth.  If  the  weather  proves  v/arm 
and  serene,  the  plant  will  appear  above  ground  in  10  or 
14  days  :  a  bushel  of  seed  will  sow  4  acres. 

"  The  ground,  though  not  grassy,  should  be  hoed  as 
soon  as  the  plant  appears,  to  loosen  the  earth  about  it, 
which  would  otherwise  much  impede  its  growth.  When 
the  w^eed  is  in  full  bloom,  it  is  to  be  cut,  without  paying 
any  regard  to  its  height ;  its  leaves  are  then  thick  and 
full  of  juice,  and  this  generally  happens  in  four  months 
from  the  planting;  previous  to  the  cutting,  a  complete 
set  of  vats  must  be  provided  in  good  order,  and  of  the 
following  dimensions,  for  every  7  acres  of  weed:  the 
steeper,  or  vat,  wherein  the  weed  is  put  to  ferment,  to 
be  16  feet  square  in  the  clear,  and  2^  feet  deep ;  the 
battery  12  feet  long,  10  feet  wide,  and  4i  feet  deep, 
from  the  top  of  the  plate :  They  should  be  made  of  the 


534  A    DESCRIPTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

best  cypress,  or  yellow  pine  plank,  of  2|  inches  thick, 
well  fastened  to  the  joints  and  studs  (which  should  be 
either  live  oak  or  light  wood)  with  seven  inch  spikes, 
and  then  calked  to  prevent  leaking.  Vats,  thus  made, 
will  last  here,  notwithstanding  the  excessive  heat,  at 
least  7' years.  When  every  thing  is  in  readiness,  cut 
the  weed  and  lay  it  regular  on  the  steeper,  with  the  stalk 
upward,  which  will  hasten  the  fermentation  ;  then  lay 
long  rails,  the  length  of  the  vat,  at  18  inches  distance 
from  one  another;  and  wedge  them  down  on  the  weed, 
to  prevent  its  buoying  up,  when  water  is  pumped  into  the 
steeper,  for  which  the  softest  water  answers  best;  the 
quantity  to  be  just  sufficient  to  cover  the  weed,  which 
must  now  be  left  to  ferment;  this  happens  sooner  or 
later,  in  proportion  to  the  heat  of  the  weather  and  ripe- 
ness of  the  plant ;  generally  in  12  or  15  hours,  when 
the  water,  now  loaded  with  the  salts  and  substance  of 
the  weed,  is  to  be  let  out  of  the  steeper  into  the  battery, 
there  to  be  beat:  To  perform  v/hich  operation,  many 
different  machines  have  been  invented;  however,  any 
instrument  may  be  made  use  of  that  will  agitate  the 
water  with  violence  ;  when  this  has  been  done  for  the 
space  of  15  or  20  minutes,  take  a  little  of  the  liquor  up 
in  a  plate,  and  it  will  appear  as  full  of  a  small  grain,  or 
curdled  :  you  are  then  to  let  in  a  quantitj^  of  lime-water 
(kept  in  a  vat  for  the  purpose)  to  augment  and  precipi- 
tate the  fseculse,  still  stirring  and  beating  vehemently  the 
indigo  water,  till  it  becomes  of  a  strong  purple  colour, 
and  the  grain  hardly  perceptible ;  and  then  left  to  settle, 
which  it  will  do  in  8  or  10  hours  ;  after  this  the  water 
must  be  gently  drawn  out  of  the  battery  through  plug- 
holes contrived  for  that  purpose,  and  the  settled  fseculse 
will  remain  like  a  caput  mortuum  at  the  bottom  of  the 
Tat,  which,  when  taken  up,  should  be  carefully  strained 


A    DESCRIPTTION    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  535 

through  a  horse-hair  sieve,  to  render  the  indig-o  perfectly 
clean;  and  then  put  into  bags,  made  of  Osnaburghs  18 
inches  long  and  12  v/ide,  and  suspended  for  about  6 
hours,  to  drain  out  the  water;  after  which  the  mouths 
of  the  bags  must  be  well  fastened,  and  put  into  a  press, 
to  be  intirely  freed  from  any  remains  of  w^ater,  wdiich 
would  otherwise  greatly  hurt  the  quality  of  the  indigo. 
The  press  I  use  for  this  purpose  is  a  box  of  5  feet  in 
length,  2|  wide,  and  2  deep,  with  holes  at  one  end  to 
let  out  the  water;  in  this  I  lay  the  bags,  one  upon  ano- 
ther, till  the  box  is  full ;  then  lay  on  them  a  plank  fitted 
to  go  into  the  box,  on  which  I  place  a  sufficient  number 
of  weights,  which  will,  by  a  constant  and  gradual  pres- 
sure, intirely  squeeze  out  the  water,  and  the  indigo  will 
become  a  fine  stiff  paste,  to  be  then  taken  out  of  the 
bags,  and  spread  on  a  plank,  and  cut  into  small  pieces 
about  2  inches  square,  and  placed  in  a  drying-house 
made  of  logs,  that  it  may  receive  all  the  advantages  of 
an  open  and  free  air,  without  being  exposed  to  the  sun, 
which  is  very  pernicious  to  the  dye ;  I  have  known  in- 
digo, placed  in  the  sun,  burnt  up,  in  a  few  hours,  to  a 
perfect  cinder.  While  the  indigo  is  in  the  drying-house, 
it  should  be  carefully  turned  three  or  four  times  a  day, 
to  prevent  its  rotting;  flies  should  likewise  be  kept 
from  it;  be  sure  that  it  is  sufficiently  dry  before  it  is 
packed,  lest,  after  it  is  headed  up  in  barrels,  it  should 
sweat,  which  will  certainly  spoil  and  rot  it." 


FINIS. 


NOV  9 -1927 


AN 


ACCOUNT 


OP 


ISSIONARIES, 


SENT   TO   SOUTH   CAROLINA. 


THE   PLACES   TO   WHICH   THEY   WERE   APPOINTED, 


THEIR  LABOURS   AND  SUCCESS,  &c. 


68 


MISSIONARIES,  &c. 


Missionaries  sent  to  South  Carolina  ;  the  places  to  which  they 
were  appointed ;  their  Labours  and  Success.  A  War  raised 
hy  the  Yammosees  and  other  Indians,  against  the  English. 
The  Tranquillity  of  this  Province  happily  restored  :  Thir- 
teen Churches  and  Four  Chapels  of  Ease  built :  Salaries 
settled  on  the  Clergy :  Schools  opened. 

The  province  of  South- Carolina  shewed  so  earnest  a 
desire  of  having  Ministers  of  the  Church  of  England, 
upon  the  first  information  they  received  of  this  corpora- 
tion being-  erected,  that  the  society  resolved  very  early  to 
send  missionaries  to  this  colony,  that  so  good  a  disposi- 
tion of  the  people  might  be  assisted  as  soon  as  possible. 
Accordingly,  in  June  1702,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Samuel 
Thomas  was  sent  thither.  The  society  designed  he 
should  have  first  attempted  the  conversion  of  the  Yam- 
7nosee  Indians,  but  the  governor,  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson, 
and  several  other  gentlemen  there,  judging  it  not  to  be 
a  proper  season  to  enter  upon  this  work,  he  did  not  en- 
gage in  that  mission ;  but  after  some  small  continuance 
in  the  governor's  family,  he  was  appointed  by  Sir  Na- 
thaniel Johnson,  to  the  cure  of  the  people  settled  on  the 
three  branches  of  Coofier  river,  15  miles  distant  from 
each  other;  but  to  make  Gooscreek  the  chief  place  of 
his  residence.  Gooscreek  was  one  of  the  largest  and 
populous  county  towns,  and  settled  by  English  famiUes 
entirely  well  affected  to  the  Church  of  England,  and 
who  formerly  had  for  some  time  the  Reverend  Mr.  Cor- 
bin  for  their  minister.  The  parish  is  20  miles  in  length, 
and  from  8  to  14  in  breadth ;  Mr.  Thomas  discharged 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  539 

his  ministerial  office  with  very  good  success,  he  ac- 
quainted the  societ}^,  that  tho'  his  communicants  at  first 
were  but  5,  they  soon  increased  to  32  ;  that  he  had  tak- 
en much  pains  also  in  instructing-  the  Negroes,  and  learn- 
ed 20  of  them  to  read.  But  in  October  1706,  this  wor- 
thy missionary  died,  (as  several  gentlemen  of  the  coun- 
try wrote  word)  very  much  lamented  for  his  sound 
doctrine,  exemplary  life,  and  industry ;  after  having 
laid  a  good  foundation  for  his  successors,  to  carry  on  the 
work  he  had  begun. 

The  society  appointed  the  Reverend  Dr.  Le  Jeau  to 
succeed  him.  Upon  his  arrival  in  the  country  in  1706, 
he  acquainted  them,  he  had  met  with  an  extraordinary 
kind  reception  from  his  excellency  the  governor  and  the 
chief  Justice,  and  had  received  many  tokens  of  great 
civility  and  goodness  from  several  worthy  persons. 
The  people  were  then  very  busie  in  providing  all  mate- 
rials for  fitting  up  the  church  and  parsonage  house, 
which  they  soon  after  compleated.  He  transmitted  to 
the  society  an  account  of  the  state  of  his  parish  and 
other  neighbouring  settlements,  wherein  he  represented 
very  earnestly,  that  it  was  the  greatest  pity  imaginable, 
to  see  how  many  various  opinions  had  been  spread 
there,  by  a  multitude  of  teachers  and  expounders  of  all 
sorts  and  perswasions  ;  and  yet  he  could  find  very  few, 
that  understood  Christianity,  even  as  to  the  essential 
parts  of  it ;  yet  the  parents  and  masters  were  endued 
with  much  good  will,  and  a  ready  disposition,  to  have 
their  children  and  servants  taught  the  Christian  religion. 
He  was  not  only  very  diligent  in  his  proper  cure  at 
Gooscreek,  but  also  assisted  in  other  places,  where  a 
minister  was  wanting;  the  church  at  Charles-Town 
being  some  time  after  his  arrival  vacant,  he  used  to 
preach  once  a  month  there,  where  at  Easter  he  had 


540  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

but  24  communicants,  the'  there  were  above  500  persons 
of  age  in  the  place.     He  sometimes  visited  the  French 
settlement  in  Orange  Quarter,  then  entirely  destitute  of 
a  minister,  and  administred  the  sacraments  among  them. 
This  settlement  consisted  then  of  about  32  families,  out 
of  which  there  were   50  persons  communicants.     His 
own  parish  had  about  100  families,  making  up  1000  per- 
sons, much  the  greater  number  of  which  were  members 
of  the  Church  of  England.     He  performed  all  parts  of 
his   ministerial  duty  with  great  diligence.     The   first 
year  of  his  mission,  he  baptized  21  children,  the  second 
19,  and  the  number  of  the  communicants  increased  to 
35.     He  instructed  and  baptized  many  Negroes  and  In- 
dian slaves :  and  whereas  he  found  several  parents  had 
neglected  to  have  their  children  baptized,  because  they 
paid  some  duties  to  the  minister,  he  acquainted  them  he 
desired  nothing,  and  prevailed  upon  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  them  to  bring  their  children  for  baptism ;  and  by 
his  private  as  well  as  publick  discourses  perswaded  seve- 
ral persons  of  a  grown  age,  to  attend  him  to  be  instructed 
in  the  essential  doctrines  of  Christianity,  in  order  for  re- 
ceiving baptism.     He  used  frequently  on  week-days  to 
catechize  the  younger  people  at  his  house,  as  finding 
nothing  conduced  more  towards  promoting  the  gospel, 
than  this  private  instruction  of  the  youth.     The  Doctor 
was  not  only  very  laborious  in  his  function,  but  by  God's 
blessing  very  successful,  and  happy  in  gaining  the  affec- 
tions of  his  people.     Soon  after  his  being  fixed  among 
them,  they  made  a  voluntary  subscription  of  60/.  a  year 
Carolina  money  for  him.     The  church  they  first  built 
became  too  small  for  the  growing  number  of  his  parish- 
ioners, and  they  erected  a  beautiful  brick  edifice.     A 
parsonage  house  was  built  by  some  publick  benefac- 
tions, which  happening  to  be  some  time  after  unfortu- 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  541 

natelj  destroyed  by  fire  (all  but  the  brick-work)  the 
charitable  country  bestowed  a  very  considerable  sum  for 
its  repair.  Captain  Schencingh,  a  worthy  gentleman  of 
the  parish,  gave  100  acres  of  good  glebe  land  to  the 
church  for  ever.  The  Doctor,  after  this,  acquainted  the 
society,  that  his  parishioners  were  much  improved,  and 
become  of  a  very  sober,  civil,  and  edifying  behaviour, 
and  that  he  had  a  full  and  constant  appearance  at  church; 
tho'  there  remained  some  few  atheistical  persons  and 
scoffers  at  all  revelation.  His  congregation  grew  still 
more  numerous,  the  communicants  increased,  and  in 
1714,  they  arose  to  70  English,  and  8  Negroes.  In  the 
year  1717,  Dr.  Le  Jeau  died;  very  much  lamented  by 
his  own  parishioners,  and  regretted  by  every  one,  who 
knew  how  useful  and  industrious  he  had  been  in  pro- 
moting the  gospel  in  those  parts.  In  the  year  1720,  the 
society  sent  the  Rev.  Mr.  Merry  a  missionary  into  Caro- 
lina, and  the  church  of  Gooscreek  being  then  vacant, 
the  parishioners  requested  him  to  come  and  reside 
among  them,  which  he  did  for  some  time,  but  stayed  not 
long,  and  returned  again  to  England.  The  society,  up- 
on the  request  of  the  inhabitants  of  Gooscreek,  soon 
after  appointed  another  missionary,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lud- 
1am;  he  arrived  there  in  the  year  1724,  and  began  his 
mission  with  great  diligence.  There  were  in  his  parish 
a  large  number  of  Negroes,  natives  of  the  place,  who 
understood  English  well,  he  took  good  pains  to  instruct 
several  of  these  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion, and  afterwards  admitted  them  to  baptism.  He 
said  if  the  masters  of  them  would  heartily  concur  to  for- 
ward so  good  a  work,  all  those  who  have  been  born  in 
the  country,  might  without  much  difficulty  be  instructed 
and  received  into  the  church.  Mr.  Ludlam  continued 
his  labours  among  the  Negroes,  and  every  year  taught 


542  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

and  baptized  several  of  them;  in  one  year,  eleven,  be- 
sides some  Mnlattoes.  The  English  of  his  parish  v^^ere 
a  very  sober  and  well-behaved  people,  and  duly  attended 
divine  worship.  Some  few,  who  had  been  of  looser 
principles,  and  negligent  of  the  ordinances  of  the  gos- 
pel, were  persuaded  to  a  due  conformity  to  the  church, 
and  several  grown  persons  received  baptism.  The  peo- 
ple continued  regularly  to  bring  their  children  to  bap- 
tism, and  devoutly  frequented  the  sacrament.  Mr.  Lud- 
1am  persevered  in  a  diligent  discharge  of  all  the  duties 
of  his  function ;  but  in  October  1728,  he  died  ;  and  in 
testimony  of  his  regard  to  the  society's  good  designs, 
and  his  respect  to  the  people  of  his  parish,  bequeathed 
by  his  last  will,  all  his  estate,  real  and  personal,  to  the 
society  in  trust  "  for  erecting  and  maintaining  a  school 
for  the  instruction  of  poor  children  of  that  parish."  His 
whole  estate  is  computed  to  amount  to  about  2000/.  Ca- 
rolina money,  after  payment  of  his  debts. 

2.  The  society  sent  the  Rev.  Mr.  Maule,  missionary 
to  Carolina  in  1707,  he  arrived  there  the  same  year;  he 
was  not  appointed  to  any  particular  place,  but  it  was 
left  to  the  Governor  and  Council  to  fix  him,  where  they 
should  judge  he  could  be  most  useful.  Upon  his  ar- 
rival there,  he  met  with  a  very  favourable  reception  at 
Charles-Town,  from  the  Governor  and  other  gentlemen 
of  the  Province.  He  was  soon  after  fixed  in  St.  John's 
parish,  on  the  western  branch  of  Cooper  River;  it  is  a 
pleasant  and  healthful  part  of  the  country,  and  the 
planters  there,  w'ere  generally  good,  sober,  and  teach- 
able people ;  but  settled  at  a  great  distance  from  each 
other  in  scattered  plantations.  He  was  the  first  clergy- 
man of  the  Church  of  England,  that  resided  there  for 
any  considerable  time.  Upon  his  preaching  at  his  first 
coming,  to  a  good  number  of  Churchmen,  he  had  several 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  543 

Independents  and  Anabaptists  who  came  to  hear  him, 
and  behaved  themselves  very  devoutly  and  attentively, 
during  the  whole  time  of  divine  service.  He  took  a 
great  deal  of  pains  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  and  up- 
on account  of  the  distance  between  the  settlements,  was 
obliged  to  ride  very  often,  which  was  exceeding  fatiguing 
(especially  during  the  sultry  season  in  that  country)  as 
well  as  expensive  to  him.  The  good  people  were  sen- 
sible of  this  difficulty  he  underwent  in  travelling,  and  to 
ease  him  as  irmch  as  they  could,  did,  without  his  know- 
ledge, raise  among  themselves  25  pounds  Carolina  mo- 
ney, and  bought  a  horse,  and  other  accoutrements,  and 
made  him  a  present  of  them.  Upon  his  first  settling 
here,  the  English  had  no  church  to  perform  divine  wor- 
ship in,  but  about  10  French  families  had  built  them  a 
small  church,  and  their  minister,  Mr.  Tuilliard  offered 
Mr.  Maule  the  use  of  his  church,  which  he  accepted, 
and  preached  often  there ;  and  such  of  the  French  as 
understood  English,  came  to  hear  him.  At  other  times, 
he  preached  up  and  down  among  the  plantations,  as  the 
houses  lay  most  convenient  for  the  people  to  meet  at. 
In  the  year  1706,  an  Act  of  Assembly  had  passed  there 
for  building  8  churches  in  8  parishes,  and  333  pounds 
Carolina  money,  was  allotted  for  each :  At  length,  about 
the  year  1710,  the  English  began  to  build  a  church,  and 
this  sum  was  expended  now  in  building  one  in  St.  John's 
parish.  All  the  outside  was  not  finished  till  1711. 
However,  Mr.  Maule  resolved  to  begin  to  make  use  of 
it,  tho'  there  was  no  conveniency  of  seats  or  pulpit,  or 
other  furniture.  Soon  after  Colonel  Broughton  a  worthy 
gentleman  and  serious  Christian,  coming  to  reside  in 
that  parish,  he  very  generously  adorned  the  church, 
made  a  communion-table,  rail'd  in  the  chancel,  made  a 
pulpit,  reading  desk,  and  some  pews ;  all  with  cedar. 


544  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

This  good  man's  labours  were  attended  with  success, 
the  people  regularly  came  to  divine  service,  and  many 
frequented  the  sacrament ;  and  the  whole  body  of  them 
were  influenced  to  lead  more  orderly  and  Christian 
lives.  Among  other  causes  of  their  religious  improve- 
ment he  mentions,  that  the  books  which  the  society 
distributed  among  the  people,  by  their  missionaries,  had 
a  very  good  effect;  and  proved  very  instrumental  in 
removing  a  great  many  prejudices  out  of  the  minds  of 
some,  and  in  making  the  whole  people  in  general,  more 
inquisitive  about  their  spiritual  concernment.  Particu- 
larly, the  Common-Prayer-Books  which  he  had  dis- 
persed among  the  people,  had  influenced  many  to  come 
to  church ;  and  Dr.  Beveridge's  Sermon  of  the  Excel- 
lency and  Usefulness  of  the  Common-Prayer,  which  he 
distributed  with  the  Common-Prayer-Books,  was  of 
great  service. 

Thus  he  continued  diligent  in  all  parts  of  his  duty, 
till  the  fatal  Indian  war  broke  out,  in  the  year  1715,  at 
which  time  all  his  parishioners  were  driven  from  their 
plantations.  In  this  calamity  he  did  not  forsake  them, 
but  retired  with  them  to  a  garrison,  whither  they  fled 
for  safety ;  and  continued  for  above  4  months  to  perform 
all  the  offices  of  his  function ;  He  baptized  their  children, 
visited  their  sick  and  wounded,  and  buried  their  dead, 
preached  every  Lord's-day,  and  read  prayers  twice 
every  day  in  the  week.  The  duty  was  much  above  his 
strength,  especially  as  performed  in  a  numerous  croud, 
confined  in  a  small  compass  of  ground,  and  in  very  sul- 
try weather  too.  However  he  underwent  it  with  chear- 
fulness,  "  Considering  (as  he  expresses  himself)  that 
having  hitherto  hved  among  them  in  their  prosperity,  I 
could  not,  in  conscience,  desert  them  m  times  of  danger 
and  distress,  that  so  I  might  learn  them  by  example  as 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  545 

well  as  doctrine,  to  submit  with  chearfulness  to  the  will 
of  God."  Thus  he  persevered  till  the  war  grew  less 
dangerous,  and  the  people  returned  to  their  plantations. 
But  this  fatigue  threw  him  into  a  bloody  flux,  thro' 
which,  after  many  relapses,  he  died ;  very  much  la- 
mented by  all  the  country ;  and  to  express  his  hearty 
wishes  to  the  society's  designs,  he  made  them,  by  his 
last  will,  residuary  legatees,  from  which  they  received 
above  600  pound  Carolina  money. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Moses  Clerk  was  appointed  by  the  so- 
ciety to  succeed  Mr.  Maule,  he  arrived  in  Carolina  in 
1720,  but  a  few  months  after,  died.  The  Church-war- 
dens and  Vestry  petitioned  the  society  for  another  mis- 
sionary, and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bryant  Hunt  was  sent  over, 
but  he  was  not  successful  in  his  mission:  his  contentious 
behaviour  gave  great  oifence  to  many  of  the  parishion- 
ers; and  in  the  year  1728,  after  many  differences  and 
contests,  he  left  his  parish,  and  returned  to  England. 
The  society  immediately  after,  in  the  year  1729,  ap- 
pointed the  Rev.  Mr.  Daniel  Dwight  missionary  to  this 
parish. 

3.  The  society  received  requests  from  the  people  of 
St.  Bartholomew's  parish  for  a  missionary,  and  the  Re- 
verend Mr.  Osborn  was  sent  thither.  He  arrived  in 
1713,  and  was  the  first  minister  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, that  had  settled  there.  His  cure  proved  very  dif- 
ficult, for  the  parish  was  above  30  miles  long  from  north 
to  south,  and  40  from  east  to  west ;  there  were  about 
120  families  in  it,  at  his  first  coming;  the  people  were 
spread  at  great  distances,  in  scattered  plantations,  over 
all  this  large  tract  of  land  ;  which  made  the  fatigue  and 
labour  of  serving  his  cure  very  great.  He  was  obliged, 
for  the  people's  conveniency,  to  officiate  at  5  different 
places,  some  of  them  20  miles  distant  from  the  place  of 

69 


646  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

his  abode.     He  acquainted  the  society,  the  people  were 
very  ready  to  be  taught  and  instructed  in  the  Christian 
faith,  that  soon  after  his  being  fixed  among  them,  he  had 
baptized  above  70,  many   of  them  grown  persons;  at 
first  they  had  some  scruples  about  receiving  the  sacra- 
ment, but  he  began  to  remove  them  by  private  confer- 
ences.    He  continued  very  diligent  in   his  duty,  and 
was  much  respected  by  his  parishioners.     But  in  the 
year  1715,  the  unhappy  Indian  war  broke  out;  the  sa- 
vages destroyed  all  the  plantations  in  his  parish,  and 
also  those  of  St.   Helen's  in   Port-Royal  Island.     The 
people  abandoned  the  place  entirely;  their  houses  and  , 
plantations  were  spoiled  and  burnt.     The  Indians  made 
so  sudden  an  iriTiption  into  these  parts,  that  they  were 
within  less  than  three  miles  of  Mr.  Osborn's  house, '  be- 
fore they  were  discovered ;  he  just  had  notice  to  make 
a  difficnlt  escape  to  Charles-Town,  abandoning  all  that 
he  had  to  the  savages :  where  soon  after  he  died,  with 
the  general  character   of  an   honest  and  useful    man. 
This  parish  hath  not  yet  recovered  from  the  ravages  of 
the  Indians,  many  of  the  people  did  not  return  to  their 
settlements ;  the  society  therefore  have  not  fixed  a  mis- 
sionary here  ;  but  some  of  the  ministers  of  other  parishes 
have  occasionally  officiated  among  those  who  returned 
to  their  plantations. 

4.  The  parish  of  St.  Helen's  in  Port-Royal-Island, 
agreed  in  1712,  to  have  a  minister  resident  among 
them.  They  were  acquainted  with,  and  had  a  good 
esteem  for  the  Reverend  Mr.  Guy,  then  assistant  to  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Johnson,  the  Rector  of  Charles-Town ; 
they  proceeded  to  elect  him  for  their  minister,  according 
to  the  laws  of  this  province ;  after  having  first  obtained 
the  consent  of  the  Reverend  Mr.  Johnson,  the  Bishop  of 
London's    Commissary,   then  at   Charles-Town.     Pre- 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  547 

sently  after,  they  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  and 
to  the  society,  an  account  of  this  election.  Tiiey  repre- 
sented ia  their  letters,  that  they  were  the  most  remote 
parish  in  the  country,  and  not  well  settled  as  yet;  that 
since  their  first  fixing  there,  they  never  had  a  minister 
resident ;  and  therefore  prayed  the  society,  in  compas- 
sion to  their  great  wants,  to  allow  Mr.  Guy  a  salary 
Mr.  Guy  was  then  in  Deacon's  orders  only ;  he  returned 
to  England  in  the  year  1713,  and  received  Priest's 
orders;  and  the  society  appointed  him  missionary  there. 
He  arrived  in  Carolina  soon  after,  and  acquainted  the 
society,  that  he  had  entred  upon  his  cure.  This  parish 
was  very  large  and  extensive,  for  the  whole  nation  of 
the  Yammosee  Indians  was  included  in  it.  Mr.  Guy 
was  very  diligent  in  the  discharge  of  all  parts  of  his 
ministerial  office  ;  he  instructed  and  baptized  several 
grown  persons,  besides  the  younger  children.  Tho' 
there  had  been  formerly  some  Anabaptist  and  Presby- 
terian teachers  here,  yet  at  his  arrival,  the  people  had 
no  teacher  of  any  persuasion,  and  lived  all  without 
using  any  kind  of  publick  divine  worship.  Notwith- 
standing which,  they  were  very  well  disposed ;  and  for 
their  greater  conveniency,  Mr.  Guy  performed  divine 
service  in  some  of  the  parishioners  houses,  sometimes  in 
one  part  of  the  parish,  sometimes  in  another,  that  all  the 
people,  at  times,  might  have  an  opportunity  of  coming  to 
divine  worship.  Mr.  Guy  wrote  to  the  society,  that  he 
met  with  many  favours  from  his  parishioners,  and  that 
they  behaved,  both  publickly  and  privately,  very  oblig- 
ingly and  kindly  to  him.  But  in  the  year  1715,  both  he 
and  all  his  parish,  narrowly  and  very  providentially 
escaped ;  being  cut  off  by  the  Indians.  The  Yammosees 
inhabiting  part  of  that  parish,  rose  suddenly  and  fell 
on  the  English ;  if  there  had  not  been  a  ship  lying  in  the 


548  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

river,  on  board  of  which,  the  English  got,  and  so  es- 
caped to  Charles-Town ;  they  would  have  been  all  ut- 
terly destroyed  by  the  savages.  Some  few  who  did  not 
make  a  timely  escape  on  board,  fell  into  the  Indians 
hands  and  were  massacred. 

5.  Having  mentioned  before,  this  Indian  war,  and  since 
I  shall  be  obliged  to  take  notice  of  it  again,  as  a  cala- 
mity, which  not  only  very  much  stopped  the  progress  of 
the  gospel  in  those   parts,  but  very  greatly  threatened 
the  civil  state  of  that  country;  I  shall  give  the  reader 
here  some  short  account  of  it.     In  the  year  1715,  the 
Indians  adjoining  to  this  colony,  all  round  from  the  bor- 
ders of  Fort  St.  Augistmo  to  Cape  Fear,  had  formed  a 
conspiracy  to  extirpate   the  white  people.     This  war 
broke  out  the  week  before  Easter.     The  parish  of  St. 
Helen's  had  some  apprehensions  of  a  rising  among  the 
adjoining  Indians,  called  the  Yammosees.     On  Wed- 
nesday before  Easter,  Captain  Nairn,  agent  among  the 
Indians,  went,  with  some  others,  to  them,  desiring  to 
know  the  reason  of  their  uneasiness,  that  if  any  injury 
had  been  done  them,  they  might  have  satisfaction  made 
them.     The  Indians  pretended  to  be  well  content,  and 
not  to  have  any  designs  against  the  English.  Mr.  Nairn 
therefore  and  the   other  traders   continued  in  the  Poco- 
taligat-To'vn,  one  of  the  chief  of  the  Yammosee  nations. 
At  night  they  went  to  sleep  in  the  round-house,  with 
the  King,  and  chief  War-Captains,  in  seeming  perfect 
friendship;  but  next  morning,   at  break  of  day,   they 
were  all  killed  with  a  volley  of  shot,  excepting  one  man 
and  a  boy,  who  providentially  escaped  (the  man  much 
wounded)  to  Port-Royal,  and   gave  notice  of  the  rising 
of  the  Indians  to  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Helen's.     Upon 
this  short  warning,  a  ship  happening  to  be  in  the  river, 
a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants,  about  300  souls,  made 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  549 

their  escape  on  board  her  to  Charles-Town,  and  among 
the  rest,  Mr.  Guy,  the  society's  missionary;  having  aban- 
doned all  their  effects  to  the  savages  :  some  few  families 
fell  into  their  hands,  who  were  barbarously  tortured  and 
murdered. 

The  Indians  had  divided  themselves  into  two  parties  ; 
one  fell  upon  Port-Royal,  the  other  upon  St.  Bartholo- 
mew's parish;  about  100  Christians  fell  into  their  hands, 
the  rest  fled,  among  which,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Osborn, 
the  society's  missionary  there.  The  women  and  child- 
ren, with  some  of  the  best  of  their  effects,  were  con- 
veyed to  Charles-Town;  most  of  the  houses  and  heavy 
goods  in  the  parish  were  burnt  or  spoil'd.  TheYam- 
mosees  gave  the  first  stroke  in  this  war,  but  were  pre- 
sently joined  by  the  Appellachee  Indians.  On  the  north 
side  of  the  province,  the  English  had  at  first,  some  hopes 
in  the  faithfulness  of  the  Calabaws  and  Creek  Indians, 
but  they  soon  after  declared  for  the  Yammosees. 

Upon  news  of  this  rising,  the  Governor  (the  Honour- 
able Charles  Craven,  Esq.)  with  all  expedition,  raised 
the  forces  in  Colleton  county,  and  with  what  assistance 
more  could  be  got  presently,  put  himself  at  their  head, 
and  marched  directly  to  the  Indians,  and  the  week  after 
Easter  came  up  with  them  and  attacked  them  at  the 
head  of  the  river  Cambahee;  and  after  a  sharp  engage- 
ment put  them  to  flight,  and  stopped  all  farther  incur- 
sions on  that  side. 

In  the  mean  time,  on  the  other  northern  side,  the  sa- 
vages made  an  inroad  as  far  as  a  plantation  of  Mr.  John 
Heme,  distant  30  miles  from  Gooscreek;  and  treache- 
rously killed  that  gentleman,  after  he  had  (upon  their 
pretending  peace)  presented  them  with  provisions. 
Upon,  news  of  this  disaster,  a  worthy  gentleman.  Captain 
Thomas  Barker,  was  sent  thither  with  90  men  on  horse- 


550  MISSIONARIES  SENT    TO  CAROLINA. 

back;  but  by  the  treachery  of  an  Indian  whom  he 
trusted,  fell  into  an  ambuscade,  in  some  thick  woods, 
which  they  must  necessarily  pass.  The  Indians  fired 
upon  them  from  behind  trees  and  bushes.  The  English 
dismounted,  and  attacked  the  savages,  and  repulsed 
them ;  but  having  lost  their  brave  commanding  officer, 
Mr.  Barker,  and  being  themselves  in  some  disorder,  made 
their  retreat.  Upon  this  advantage,  the  Indians  came 
farther  on  toward  Gooscreek,  at  news  of  which,  the 
whole  parish  of  Gooscreek  became  deserted,  except  two 
fortified  plantations :  and  the  Reverend  Dr.  Le  Jeau, 
the  society's  missionary  there,  fled  to  Charles-Town. 

These  northern  Indians,  being  a  body  of  near  400 
men,  after  attacking  a  small  fort  in  vain,  made  proposals 
of  peace,  which  the  garrison  unwarily  hearkening  to, 
admitted  several  of  them  into  the  fort,  which  they  sur- 
prized and  cut  to  pieces  the  garrison,  consisting  of  70 
white  people  and  40  blacks ;  a  very  few  escaped.  After 
this  they  advanced  farther,  but  on  the  13th  of  June,  Mr. 
Chicken,  the  Captain  of  the  Gooscreek  Company,  met 
and  attacked  them,  and  after  a  long  action,  defeated 
them,  and  secured  the  province  on  that  side  from  farther 
ravages. 

The  society  received  these  calamitous  relations  from 
CaroUna  with  much  concern,  both  on  account  of  the 
distress  of  the  inhabitants  and  of  their  missionaries. 
They  thought  it  incumbent  on  them  to  do  something 
towards  the  relief  of  the  latter,  who  were  sent  by  them 
to  those  places.  Accordingly  a  letter  was  wrote  to  all 
the  missionaries,  acquainting  them,  how  sensible  the 
society  was  of  the  hardships  they  underwent,  and  that 
they  had  agreed  to  give  half  a  year's  salary  to  each  of 
them  as  a  gratuity,  for  their  present  assistance.  That 
this  bounty  might  be  paid  them  with  all  speed,  a  letter 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  551 

was  wrote  by  the  same  conveyance  to  Colonel  Rhet,  a 
worthy  gentleman  in  that  country,  desiring  him,  on  the 
account  of  the  society,  to  pay  each  of  their  missionaries 
and  schoolmasters  half  a  year's  salary;  and  in  case  the 
other  clergy  of  the  colony,  who  were  not  misssionaries, 
should  be  in  great  streights  upon  account  of  this  publick 
calamity,  he  should  also  pay  each  of  them  a  sum,  not 
exceeding  30  pounds  sterling ;  which  the  society  pre- 
sented them  towards  their  support ;  and  that  he  might 
draw  upon  their  Treasurer  for  all  such  sums  paid.  Co- 
lonel Rhet  was  pleased  very  kindly,  to  pay  all  the  mis- 
sionaries who  apply'd  to  him,  the  money  the  society  had 
directed;  and  also  to  the  Reverend  Mr.  Lapierre,  and 
Mr.  Richburg,  two  French  ministers,  who  w^ere  not  em- 
ployed by  the  society,  30  pound  each ;  they  were  both 
just  preparing  to  quit  the  country,  on  account  of  their 
gr'3at  want,  but  were  prevented  by  so  seasonable  a  re- 
lief thro'  the  society's  bounty. 

6.  Havinof  Sfiven  the  reader  this  short  relation  of  the 
Indian  war,  which  brought  so  much  confusion  on  the 
religious  as  well  as  civil  state  of  this  growing  colony ; 
I  shall  now  resume  the  first  subject,  and  continue  on  the 
account  of  the  labours  of  the  missionaries  in  each  parish. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  parish  of  St.  Helen's  in  Port- 
Royal  Island,  before  mentioned,  had  been  all  drove  from 
their  settlements,  by  the  Yammosees ;  but  upon  the 
suppressing  of  the  Indian  ravages,  the  people  returned 
to  their  plantations.  They  were  encouraged  to  do  so, 
the  sooner,  because  Port-Royal  Island  had  a  very  capa- 
cious and  safe  harbour,  and  was  likely  to  become  a 
place  of  great  trade,  as  being  a  commodious  station  for 
shipping,  and  the  country  around,  affording  plenty  of  all 
provisions.  Here  are  now  computed  to  be  above  70  fami- 
lies.    They  obtained  a  considerable  sum  of  money  from 


552  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

the  government  there,  towards  buildmg-  a  church,  to 
which,  several  worthy  gentlemen  added  contributions, 
and  in  the  year  1724,  built  a  small  church,  a  neat  brick 
building,  in  length,  from  the  w^est-end  to  the  chancel, 
40  feet,  and  in  breadth  30 ;  the  chancel  is  10  feet  square : 
The  communion-table,  pulpit,  desk,  and  some  pews  are 
made  of  Cedar.  There  was  a  pressing  occasion  for  hav- 
ing a  church  here,  because  the  inhabitants  of  this  parish 
live  at  a  great  distance  from  each  other,  and  the  nearest 
of  them  at  least  40  miles  distant,  from  any  other  parish- 
church.  The  people  when  they  began  to  build  their 
church,  requested  the  society  to  send  them  a  mission- 
ary. The  Reverend  Mr.  Lewis  Jones  was  apppointed 
hither  in  the  year  1725.  He  hath  behaved  himself 
worthily  in  the  discharge  of  all  the  duties  of  his  mis- 
sion, and  instiTicted  several  grown  persons  in  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  and  admitted  them  to  baptism.  He  continues 
still  here. 

7.  The  Reverend  Mr.  Hasell  was  sent  to  the  parish 
of  St.  Thomas  in  1709.  He  had  been  formerly  employ- 
ed by  the  society,  as  catechist  in  Charles-town ;  which 
office  he  discharged  with  diligence  :  The  first  church 
built  hert,  (now  used  for  a  chapel  of  ease)  was  called 
Pomkinhill  Church,  from  a  rising  hill  of  that  name,  on 
which  it  was  built ;  it  is  situate  near  the  river  side,  made 
of  Cypress  wood,  30  foot  square,  erected  about  the  year 
1703,  at  the  charge  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  by  the 
particular  assistance  of  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson.  But 
the  parish  church  of  St.  Thomas  was  built  of  brick,  situ- 
ate on  a  neck  of  land,  on  the  north-west  of  Wandoe 
river,  and  south-west  of  Cooper  river;  in  pursuance  of 
an  act  of  Assembly  made  in  1706.  The  foundation  of 
this  church  was  laid  in  1707,  and  the  building  finished 
the  next  year ;  Mr.  Hasell  was  the  first  minister  of  this 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  553 

church,  elected  by  virtue  of  the  above-mentioned  act. 
There  are  in  this  parish  upwards  of  600  acres  of  glebe 
land,  200  of  which  adjoin  to  the  church ;  and  420  to  the 
chapel  of  ease.  There  is  as  yet  no  parsonage-house 
built  in  this  parish,  but  the  money  allowed  by  the  As- 
sembly for  that  use  is  laid  out  at  interest,  till  it  shall 
arise  to  a  sufficient  sum  to  build  one.  There  were,  in 
the  year  1713,  about  120  families  in  this  parish,  includ- 
ing the  settlements  in  Orange  quarter;  but  now  the  in- 
habitants are  computed  to  amount  to  565  whites,  950 
negroes,  60  Indian  slaves,  and  20  free  negroes,  in  all 
near  1600  souls.  Mr.  Hasell  had  very  good  success  in 
his  ministry,  was  respected  and  loved  by  his  parishion- 
ers, and  a  great  many  persons  of  unsettled  principles 
were  induced  to  hold  a  hrm  faith.  A  great  many  young 
persons,  descended  of  dissenters  of  various  tenets,  con- 
formed to  the  Church  of  England,  and  several  young 
men  of  French  parentage  in  Orange  Quarter,  v/ho  un- 
derstood English,  constantly  attended  his  church.  The 
books  the  society  sent  to  be  distributed  by  him  were  of 
great  use,  especially  the  Common-Prayer-Books,  given 
to  the  younger  people  of  the  French,  and  to  dissenters 
children.  Mr.  Hasell  continues  still  in  this  mission, 
with  a  very  advantageous  character. 

The  district  of  Orange  quarter  is  a  French  settlement, 
but  in  the  first  division  of  the  country  into  parishes,  was 
part  of  St.  Thomas's  parish ;  few  of  the  people  attended 
service  in  the  English  church  for  want  of  the  language. 
The  major  part  of  them  usually  met  together  in  a  small 
church  of  their  own,  where  they  generally  made  a  pretty 
full  congregation,  when  they  had  a  French  minister 
amongst  them ;  they  were  poor,  and  unable  to  support 
their  minister,  and  made  application  to  the  Assembly  of 
the  province,  to  be  made  a  parish,  and  to  have  some 

70 


554  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

publick  allowance  for  a  minister  episcopally  ordained, 
who  should  use  the  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  preach  to  them  in  French.      Accordingly,  they  v/ere 
incorporated  by  the  name  of  the  parish  of  St.  Dennis, 
till  such  time  as  they  should  understand  English.  They 
have  now  a  good  church  built  about  the  time  St.  Tho- 
mas's was,  and  never  had  but  one  minister,  Mr.  Lapierre. 
8.  In  the  year   1705,  the   Reverend  Mr.  Dunn  was 
sent  to  St.  Paul's  parish  in  Colleton  county.     A  small 
but  convenient  brick  church  was  erected,  about  the  year 
1708,  in  length  35,  in  breadth  25  feet,  situate  on  the 
head  of  Stcno  river,  about  20  miles  distant  from  Charles 
Town  to  the  southward.     It  is  built  on  a  piece  of  land 
given  by  Mr.  Edmund  Bellinger,   a  gentleman  of  that 
parish ;    and  a  narrow  piece  of  land  near  the  church, 
containing  about  71  acres,  was  laid  out  for  a  glebe.     A 
little,  but  commodious  dwelling-house  of  brick,  was  built 
for  the    minister,  with  an  out-kitchen,   and  some    ne- 
cessary timber  buildings ;  but  this  house  and  the  other 
out-buildings,  were    burnt  in  the    Indian    war.       Mr. 
Dunn  wrote  word  that  he   found  the  common  people 
very  ignorant,  and  was  obliged  to  stay  some  time  to  in- 
struct them  before  he  could  properly   administer  the 
sacraments.     He  did  not  continue  long  there,   and  Mr. 
Mateland  succeeded  him,  about  the  year  1708,  but  died 
not  long  after.     The  Reverend  Mr.  William  Tredwell 
Bull  was  appointed  missionary  there  in  1712.     He  de- 
meaned himself  with  prudence  and  civility,  and  was  so 
diligent  in  all  parts  of  his  pastoral  care,  that  the  church 
considerably  increased ;  and  the  flourishing  condition  of 
it  at  present  is  much  owing  to  his  labours.     In  the  year 
1721,  the  vestry  laid  a  petition  before  the  General  As- 
sembly, setting  forth,   "  That  the  number  of  the  inhabi- 
tants and  of  the  members  of  the  Church  of  England 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  555 

was  so  much,  increased,  that  their  parish-church  was  too 
little  for  tliera,  and  that  for  want  of  room,  sorae  were 
forced  te  stand  without  the  door,  and  others  hang  at  the 
windows  ;  and  that  having-  agreed  among  themselves 
upon  the  necessary  enlargement,  they  found  it  would 
cost  considerably  more  than  1000  pound  when  com- 
pleated,  with  such  decency  as  becomes  the  house  of 
God  :  That  they  were  willing  to  contribute  to  their  ut- 
most, tho'  many  of  them  had  been  great  sufferers  in  the 
Indian  war,  and  scarce  able  to  build  their  own  houses 
destroyed  in  that  war."  The  General  Assembly  very 
generously  allowed  500/.  and  the  people  very  liberally 
and  cheerfully  subscribed  1000/.  more,  Carolina  money ; 
with  which  they  made  a  very  neat  and  regular  addition- 
al building  to  their  church.  Mr.  Bull  continued  till  the 
year  1723,  very  successful  in  the  discharge  of  the  du- 
ties of  his  function,  and  happy  in  having  the  love  and 
esteem  of  his  parishioners.  He  was  obliged  to  return 
to  England,  on  account  of  some  family  affairs,  and  hav- 
ing resolved  to  continue  here,  was,  in  consideration  of 
his  services  to  the  church  abroad,  promoted  to  a  bene^ 
fice  here  in  England.  In  the  year  1724,  the  society 
sent  the  Rev.  Mr.  David  Standish,  missionary  to  this 
parish ;  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  function  with 
dihgence,  and  behaved  himself  so  as  to  gain  the  esteem 
and.  love  of  his  parishioners.  His  congregation  increas- 
ed, and  several  grown  persons  desired  and  received  bap- 
tism. He  extended  his  labours  to  other  places,  where 
there  was  no  minister ;  particularly  in  Edisto  Island ; 
where  a  large  number  of  churchmen  and  anabaptists 
used  to  meet  him.  The  people  of  his  parish  made  an 
additional  building  to  their  church,  and  were  so  much 
satisfied  with  their  minister,  that  in  the  year  1727,  they 
purchased  a  glebe  for  him,  of  400  acres  of  land,  joining 


556  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

to  the  church,  and  very  pleasantly  situated  on  a  larg^e 
river,  about  20  miles  distant  from  Charles-Town,  with  a 
house  upon  it,  and  some  other  necessary  buildings  ;  Mr. 
Standish  continued  dihgent  in  all  parts  of  his  office,  till 
the  jeuY  1728,  in  which  he  died. 

9.  The  inhabitants  of  Christ-church  parish  had  not  a 
missionary  sent  to  them  until  the  year  1711.  However, 
that  the  people  might  not  be  left  destitute  of  having 
Divine  w^orship  celebrated,  the  reverend  the  clergy 
neighbouring  to  this  parish,  Mr.  Commissary  Johnston, 
Mr.  Maule,  Mr.  Hasell,  missionaries  from  the  society, 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lapierre,  gave  each  a  sermon  monthly 
at  this  church,  until  the  society  appointed  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Gilbert  Jones  their  missionary  there.  The  founda- 
tion of  Christ-Church  was  laid  in  1707,  and  the  publick 
allowance  of  333/.  was  expended,  but  the  building  not 
compleated  in  1712,  when  Mr.  Jones  came  to  this 
parish.  Upon  his  being  elected  rector  of  this  church, 
the  parishioners  petitioned  the  General  Assembly  for  a 
further  sum  toward  finishing  their  church ;  200/.  more 
was  given,  andt  he  parish  raised  among  themselves  about 
67  pounds  more,  with  which  they  finished  their  church, 
bought  100  acres  of  land  for  a  glebe,  and  built  a  conve- 
nient house  and  kitchen  at  4  miles  distance  from  the 
church.  Mr.  Jones  sat  about  the  duties  of  his  function, 
with  great  diligence  and  earnestness  ;  and  as  the  peo- 
ple had  been  long  without  a  resident  minister,  there 
were  many  grown  children  and  persons  of  age  unbap- 
tized.  He  persuaded  them  to  bring  their  children  for 
baptism,  and  soon  after  his  being  settled  there,  received 
into  the  church  136  children  besides  7  grown  persons  ; 
tho'  the  number  of  housekeepers  then  was  but  105.  He 
used  also  great  pains  to  persuade  the  masters  and  mis- 
tresses to  assist  in  having  their  slaves  instructed  in  the 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  557 

Christian  faith ;  but  found  this  good  work  laj  under 
difficulties  as  yet  insuperable.  He  wrote  thus  concern- 
ing this  matter,  "  Tho'  labouring  in  vain  be  very  dis- 
couraging, yet  (by  the  help  of  God)  I  will  not  cease  my 
labours,  and  if  I  shall  but  gain  but  one  proselyte,  shall 
not  think  much  of  all  my  pains."  He  was  not  only  very 
laborious  in  his  cure,  but  out  of  a  kind  regard  to  the 
poverty  of  his  parishioners,  occasioned  by  the  Indian 
war,  he  declined  taking  any  contributions  from  them, 
lest  some  unsettled  persons  might  think  their  religion 
too  dear,  and  therefore  forsake  it.  He  contracted  seve- 
ral fits  of  sickness  by  his  constant  application,  and  so 
impair'd  his  constitution,  that  he  was  obliged  to  ask 
leave  from  the  society  to  come  to  England ;  the  society 
consented,  and  he  returned  home  in  1721,  and  continaed 
here  in  England. 

The  society  sent  the  Reverend  Mr.  Pownal  in  his 
room,  he  arrived  there  in  November  1722.  He  ac- 
quainted about  two  years  after,  that  the  number  of  his 
parishioners  was  470  free-born,  and  that  there  were  but 
few  dissenters  among  them ;  but  there  were  above  700 
slaves,  some  of  which  understand  the  English  tongue, 
but  very  few  knew  any  thing  of  God  or  religion.  The 
people  were  very  sober  and  industrious  ;  he  had  a  full 
congregation,  and  above  30  communicants,  and  had  bap- 
tized several  grown  persons.  Not  long  after,  having 
some  affairs  in  England,  which  required  his  presence, 
he  returned  from  his  parish,  and  continued  here.  This 
parish  is  at  present  without  a  missionary,  but  the  society 
have  agreed  to  send  one  in  a  little  time. 

10.  The  church  of  St.  Andrew's  is  situate  about  13 
miles  distant  from  Charles-Town,  on  the  south  side  of 
Ashley  River ;  the  parish  extends  about  21  miles  in 
length,  and  7  in  breadth,  and  contains  about  180  fami- 


558  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

lies.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Wood  was  the  first  minister  they 
had;  a  very  deserving  man,  as  Mr.  Chief  Justice  Trott 
acquainted  the  society:  He  entredupon  this  cure  in  the 
year  1707,  but  died  soon  after:  the  parish  was  long  va-. 
cant.  The  Reverend  Mr.  Taylor  was  appointed  mission- 
ary there,  in  the  year  1711 ;  but  there  arose  some  conten- 
tious disputes  at  first,  and  afterwards  an  unhappy  distaste 
between  him  and  his  parishioners,  that  he  was  desirous 
to  be  removed.  He  accordingly  removed  to  North-Ca- 
rolina with  the  society's  permission  in  1717.  About 
this  time,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Guy,  who,  after  the  desola- 
tion of  his  parish  (St.  Helen's  Port-Royal)  in  the  Indian 
war,  had  been  sent  missionary  to  Naragansett  in  New- 
England;  returned,  upon  account  of  his  health,  to  Ca- 
rolina, and  was  soon  after  settled  at  St.  Andrew's  instead 
of  Mr.  Taylor.  He  made  amends  by  his  prudence  and 
courteous  demeanor,  for  the  disobliging  conduct  of  his 
predecessor.  His  former  behaviour  had  gained  him  the 
general  esteem  of  the  people  in  the  country.  The  ves- 
try of  this  church  therefore,  upon  his  arrival,  invited 
him  to  settle  with  them ;  as  he  had  no  parish,  he  ac- 
cepted of  their  very  kind  oifer ;  and  the  society  allowed 
of  his  being  fixed  there,  upon  the  Vestry's  request, 
joined  to  his  own.  He  continued  to  perform  his  minis- 
terial office  with  good  diligence  and  success.  This 
church  was  built  of  brick,  about  40  feet  long,  and  25 
broad,  there  was  a  burying  place  contiguous  to  it  of  about 
3  acres.  A  small  boarded  parsonage-house  was  built, 
about  a  mile  distant  from  the  church,  and  26  acres  of 
glebe  land  bought  for  the  minister;  but  there  hath  been 
since  made  an  addition  of  60  acres  of  good  land  to  this 
glebe,  about  the  year  1727.  Mr.  Guy  was  not  only 
careful  in  his  own  cui'e,  but  extended  his  labours  to 
some  other  places  remote,  where  he  preached,  adrninis- 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  559 

tred  the  sacrament,  and  baptized  several  children,  and 
some  grown  persons.  He  had  such  audiences  generally 
at  the  house  where  he  preached,  that  the  people  finding 
it  too  little  to  hold  them,  began  to  raise  a  subscription 
for  building  a  church.  Tlie  parish-church  in  the  year 
1722,  became  too  small  to  hold  the  congregation :  The 
people  therefore  agreed  to  enlarge  it,  and  presently  sub- 
scribed 500  pounds.  The  Commissioners  appointed  by 
the  Vestry,  agreed  with  workmen,  and  prepared  mate- 
rials for  building;  and  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Province,  the  more  to  encourage  them  to  go  on;  ordered 
the  Pubhck  Receiver  pay  out  of  the  Treasury,  the  sum 
of  400/.  because  the  subscription  money  of  the  parish 
was  not  sufficient  to  defray  the  charges.  The  church 
as  now  enlarged,  is  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  begun  in  the 
year  1723,  and  since  carried  on  by  the  contributions  of 
the  parishioners ;  it  is  40  feet  long,  and  52  feet  broad, 
with  a  handsome  chancel  1 2  feet  long,  and  24  feet  wide, 
built  of  good  brick,  and  the  roof  of  cypress  wood  ;  the 
roof  of  the  old  part  was  likewise  pulled  down,  and 
built  of  cypress,  well  arched,  ceiled  and  plaistered,  as 
is  the  new  part :  The  church  is  adorned  and  beautified, 
with  neat  cedar  pews,  a  large  east-end  window,  and  two 
others,  one,  on  each  side  of  the  communion-table,  with 
more  on  each  side  of  the  body  of  the  church,  all  neatly 
arched,  and  well  glazed.  A  "decent  font  is  to  be  placed 
on  a  pedestal  3  steps  high  in  a  semicircle,  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  church,  and  a  galary  is  designed  to  be 
forthwith  built  at  the  west  end,  for  those  people  who 
have  no  pews.  Mr .  Guy  persuaded  several  persons 
who  were  neglectful  of  the  offices  of  the  church  to  a 
more  regular  behaviour,  and  baptized  many  grown  per- 
sons ;  and  as  the  number  of  his  hearers  considerably  in- 
creased, so  also  did  the  number  of  the  constant  commu- 
nicants :  he  continues  now  in  this  mission. 


560  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

11.  The  parish  of  St.  George  was  formerly  a  part  of 
St.  Andrew's,  and  taken  out  of  that  by  an  act  of  the  as- 
sembly, in  the  year  1717.     It  is  about  19  miles  long  and 

8  broad,  consisting  of  500  English,  in  115  famihes,  be- 
sides 1300  negroe  slaves.     The  church  is  situate  about 

9  miles  from  Gooscreek,  11  from  St.  Andrew's,  and  28 
from  Charles-Town.  By  the  act  of  assembly  passed  in 
the  year  1717,  for  building  this  church,  Alexander 
Skeene,  Esq. ;  Capt.  Walter  Izard,  Mr.  Thomas  Diston, 
Samuel  Wragg,  Esq.  ;  Captain  John  Canty,  Mr.  Tho- 
mas Warring,  and  Mr.  Jacob  Satur,  were  named  com- 
missioners. These  worthy  gentlemen  were  very  zeal- 
ous to  carry  on  this  w^ork.  The  allowance  made  by  the 
assembly  of  333  pounds  being  not  sufficient  fortius  pur- 
pose, they  very  earnestly  promoted  a  subscription 
among  the  gentlemen  of  the  country,  and  1196  pound 
Carolina  money  \\as  subscribed,  yet  that  proving  too 
lictle,  the  public  did  four  years  after,  give  466  pounds 
more,  to  defray  the  charge  of  the  building.  A  church 
was  begun  to  be  built  in  the  year  1719,  and  in  the 
year  following  the  out-work  was  compleated ;  it  'is  a 
brick  building  50  feet  long  and  30  broad,  besides  the 
chancel.  There  is  also  a  very  good  brick  parsonage- 
house  built,  not  half  a  mile  distant  from  the  church,  si- 
tuate on  a  very  pleasant  spot  of  ground  near  Ashley 
River,  with  a  glebe  of  75  acres  of  land. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Peter  Tustian  was  appointed  mission- 
ary here,  by  the  society,  in  the  year  1719  ;  but  upon  his 
•arrival,  he  found  the  country  so  disordered  with  party 
divisions,  that  he  soon  removed  to  Maryland. 

The  reverend  Mr.  Varnod  succeeded  him,  he  arrived 
there  in  1723,  and  was  very  kindly  received  by  his  par- 
ishioners ;  they  were  so  well  inclined  to  the  Church  of 
England  communion,  that  they  constantly  attended  Di- 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  561 

vine  service,  and  so  few  absented  themselves,  that  the 
church  beg-an  soon  to  be  too  small  for  the  congregation. 
A  year  after  his  arrival  at  Christmas,  he  had  more  com- 
municants than  ever  were  known  to  meet  at  that  place, 
near  fifty  persons,  and  what  was  still  remarkable,  sev- 
enteen negroes.  He  baptized  several  grown  persons, 
besides  children  and  negroes  belonging  to  Alexander 
Skeene,  Esq.  Mr.  Varnod  extended  his  labours  beyond 
his  own  parish,  he  sometimes  used  to  preach  at  a  neigh- 
bouring French  congregation,  much  to  their  edification. 
His  own  parishioners  were  also  well  satisfied  with  him. 
He  continues  still  in  his  mission  with  good  success. 

12.  The  parish  of  St.  James  Santee  consists  chiefly 
of  French  refugees  conforming  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. It  contains  upwards  of  100  French  families,  and 
60  English,  besides  free  Indians,  and  negroe  slaves. — 
Their  minister  hath  only  the  salary  of  the  country  and 
some  occasional  gratuities,  the  whole  making  but  a  very 
scanty  support.  The  rev.  Mr.  Philip  de  Richbourg  was 
their  first  minister,  and  approved  himself  in  all  respects 
a  worthy  man ;  upon  his  dying  in  1717,  the  parish  was  a 
long  time  without  a  minister.  In  1720,  the  rev.  Mr. 
Ponderous,  a  French  clergyman,  went  over,  and  was 
fixed  there  by  the  Bishop  of  London ;  but  neither  he, 
nor  Mr.  Richbourg,  had  any  constant  salary  from  the 
society,  though  they  have  had  several  occasional  gratu- 
ities. The  people  are  religious  and  industrious,  and 
very  soon,  in  the  year  1706,  petitioned  the  governor  and 
general  assembly  to  have  their  settlement  erected  into  a 
parish,  and  signified  their  being  extream  desirous  of  be- 
ing united  to  the  body  of  the  Church  of  England,  whose 
doctrine  and  discipline  they  did  most  highly  esteem  ; — 
and  the  governor  and  assembly  did  pass  an  act,  that 
year,  erecting  their  settlement  into  a  parish,  fixing  the 

71 


562  '  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

parochial  church  at  James  Town,  and  setting  forth  its 
boundaries,  which  contained  about  18  miles  in  compass, 
but  by  a  subsequent  act,  they  have  been  much  enlarg- 
ed :  The  rev.  Mr.  Ponderous  continues  now  their  minis- 
ter, very  industrious  in  his  function. 

13.  Prince  George's  parish  was  erected  in  the  north- 
ern parts  of  this  province,  at  a  place  called  Wineaw,  in 
the  year  1725,  when  Francis  Nicholson,  Esq.  was  go- 
vernor of  this  colony.  There  was  a  considerable  sum 
of  money  given,  by  act  of  assembly,  for  building  a  church 
here  ;  and  Governor  Nicholson,  to  forward  the  work, 
gave  100/.  and  the  people  contributed  the  rest.  This 
is  a  frontier  place,  so  very  far  distant  from  any  church, 
as  the  inhabitants  have  wrote  to  the  society,  That  they 
have  lived  many  years  without  seeing  any  divine  pub- 
lic worship  performed,  without  having  their  children 
baptized,  or  the  dead  buried  in  any  Christian  order. — 
The  parish  contains  at  present  above  500  Christian 
souls,  besides  negroes  and  Indians,  and  the  people  were 
so  zealous  to  have  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England, 
that  they  built  a  convenient  church  in  the  year  1726, 
and  obtained  of  the  country  a  salary  of  100/.  procla- 
mation money,  and  purchased  200  acres  of  glebe  land 
for  their  minister.  Upon  the  repeated  desires  of  the 
people  here,  the  society  appointed  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Morritt  missionary  in  1728. 

14.  The  church  of  St.  Philip's  in  Charles-towm,  the 
capitol  of  the  whole  province  of  Carolina,  had  a  salary 
of  150/.  of  that  country  money,  settled  on  the  minister, 
by  act  of  assembly.  The  society  were  in  hopes  this 
might  be  a  sufficient  maintenance,  and  therefore  did  not 
at  first  allow  any  thing  to  the  minister.  The  bishop  of 
London  (Dr.  Compton,)  was  very  earnest  to  have  a  per- 
son of  prudence  and  experience  to  take  the  cure  of  this, 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  563 

the  chief  place  in  the  province  ;  one  who  should  act  as 
his  commissary,  and  have  the  inspection  of  church  mat- 
ters. The  Rev.  Mr.  Gideon  Johnston  was  recommended 
to  the  bishop  in  the  year  1707,  by  the  archbishop  of 
Dublin,  by  the  bishop  of  Killaloo,  and  the  bishop  of  El- 
phin,  his  diocesan,  in  the  fullest  manner.  "  His  grace 
assured,  he  had  known  Mr.  Johnston  from  a  child,  and 
did  testifie,  he  had  maintained  a  fair  reputation,  and  was 
the  son  of  a  worthy  clergyman  in  Ireland;  that  he  dared 
answer  for  his  sobriety,  diligence  and  ability,  and  doubt- 
ed not  but  he  would  execute  his  duty  so  as  to  merit  the 
approbation  of  all  with  whom  he  should  be  concerned." 
Bishop  Compton  was  fully  satisfied  with  this  character ; 
sent  him  to  Charlestown,  and  made  him  his  commissary. 
Mr.  Johnston  arrived  in  Carolina,  after  a  long  and  tedi- 
ous voyage,  and  was  unfortunately  near  losing  his  life, 
almost  in  sight  of  Charles-town.  The  bar  of  sand  at 
the  harbour's  mouth,  kept  out  the  ship,  in  w^hich  he  was 
passenger,  till  the  next  tide ;  and  Mr.  Johnston  being 
sick,  was  impatient  to  get  ashore,  went  into  a  sloop  with 
three  other  persons ;  a  sudden  gust  of  wind  rising, 
wrecked  the  sloop  upon  a  sand-bank ;  they  lay  there 
two  days,  before  the  boats  and  canoes,  which  were  sent 
out,  could  discover  them,  almost  perished  with  hunger 
and  thirst. 

Mr.  Johnston  upon  his  entering  on  his  cure,  found 
the  people  at  Charles-Town  unhappily  disturbed  wdth 
feuds  and  animosities  ;  yet  he  managed  himself  with  so 
much  temper  and  prudence,  as  to  avoid  giving  any  of- 
fence, or  incurring  the  displeasure  of  either  side.  Wliat 
afflicted  him  most,  was  the  ill  habit  of  body,  w^hich,  by 
various  incidents  in  his  voyage,  and  since  his  arrival  in 
the  country,  he  had  contracted.  However,  he  struggled 
through  every  difficulty,  discharged  his  duty  wdth  great 


564  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

diligence,  and  to  the  general  satisfaction  of  his  parish- 
ioners, though  his  cure,  as  being  in  the  most  populous 
place,  was  very  laborious.  He  read  prayers  and  preach- 
ed twice  on  Sundays,  read  prayers  on  Wednesdays  and 
Fridays,  and  frequently  catechized  the  children.  Be- 
sides the  discharge  of  all  his  ministerial  duties,  he  be- 
came useful  and  happy  in  composing,  in  some  degree, 
the  divisions  among  the  people,  and  by  a  very  modest 
and  peaceable  applying,  persuaded  many,  who  had  dif- 
ferences, to  converse  without  passion  or  bitterness.  By 
these,  and  many  other  methods,  he  gained  the  respect 
and  love  of  the  best  sort  of  people,  of  many  parties. 
His  parishioners  knew  his  circumstances  were  strait, 
and  that  the  country  allowance  was  not  sufficient  to 
maintain  him  and  his  large  family ;  the  assembly  being 
then  sitting,  they  procured  a  clause  to  be  made  in  one 
of  the  acts  then  passed,  adding  50/.  a  year  more  to  his 
church,  during  his  incumbency.  This  was  a  very  spe- 
cial mark  of  their  favour  to  him,  and  the  more  so,  be- 
cause it  was  done  without  his  using  any  publick  solicita- 
tion for  it.  He  continued  very  assiduous  in  every  branch 
of  his  office,  until  the  year  1711,  at  which  time,  several 
pestilential  diseases  raged  over  all  the  coTintry,  and  oc- 
casioned a  great  mortality,  especially  at  Charles-Town; 
notwithstanding  all  these  difficulties,  he  discharged  all 
the  duties  of  his  function  with  unwearied  diligence.  He 
contracted  by  his  labours  many  infirmities,  which  in- 
creased daily  on  him ;  and  he  was  forced  to  come  to 
England  for  the  recovery  of  his  health.  After  staying 
here  about  a  year  and  a  half,  he  returned  to  his  church 
at  Carolina,  with  an  allowance  of  50/.  a  year  salary  from 
the  society.  He  entered  again  upon  the  duties  of  his 
cure,  with  his  former  diligence  and  success,  and  conti- 
nued so  till  April,  in  1716.     The  honourable  Charles 


MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  665 

Craven,  Esq.,  the  governour  of  the  country,  was  then 
returning  to  England.  Mr.  Johnston,  vvdth  30  more  gen- 
tlemen, went  into  a  sloop  to  take  their  leave  of  him,  then 
in  the  man  of  war,  and  under  sail.  They  waited  on  the 
governor  and  parted  with  him,  but  in  their  return  back, 
a  storm  arose,  the  sloop  was  overset,  and  Mr.  Johnston 
being  lame  of  the  gout,  and  in  the  hold,  was  drowned ; 
the  other  gentlemen  who  were  upon  the  deck,  partly  by 
swimming,  and  partly  by  holding  on  the  sloop,  saved 
themselves,  till  help  came.  The  sloop  afterwards  drove, 
and  that,  and  Mr.  Johnston's  body,  were  found  on  the 
same  bank  of  sand,  on  which  he  had  almost  perished,  at 
his  first  coming  to  the  country :  he  was  buried  at  Charles 
Town,  very  much  lamented  by  his  parishioners,  and 
especially  all  the  clergy  his  brethren. 

15.  The  missionaries  represented  frequently  to  the 
society  the  great  want  of  schools  in  this  province,  for  the 
instruction  of  the  children  in  the  principles  of  religion, 
and  teaching  convenient  learning.  Dr.  Le  Jeau  at 
Gooscreek,  did  very  earnestly  press  the  society  to  allow 
a  salary  for  a  schoolmaster  in  his  parish,  and  they  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Dennis  schoolmaster  in  the  year  1710 ;  he 
had  a  good  number  of  scholars  for  several  years  till  the 
Indian  war  broke  out,  which  dispersed  the  people  and 
all  his  scholars.  The  society  appointed  also  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Guy  to  be  schoolmaster  in  Charles-town,  and  also 
curate  or  assistant  to  the  minister  of  Charles-town,  be- 
cause that  cure  seemed  too  laborious  for  one  person. 
Tnere  is  now  a  handsome  school-house  built  by  act  of 
assembly,  and  the  schoolmaster  allowed  a  salary  of  100/. 
proclamation  money.  Upon  Mr.  Guy's  being  removed 
to  the  cure  of  a  parish,  Mr.  Morrit  was  fixed  schoolmas- 
ter here  ;  but  being  lately  chose  minister  of  a  parish,  and 
leaving  the  school,  the  society  have  appointed  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Lambert,  schoolmaster  and  catechist,  or  afternoon 


566  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

preacher  there  ;  and  accounts  have  been  transmitted  to 
the  society,  that  he  discharges  his  duty  with  dihgence, 
and  hath  been  very  useful  in  training  up  the  youth. 

The  people  of  the  whole  country  are  thoroughly  sen- 
sible of  the  necessity  of  schools,  for  the  Christian  edu- 
cation of  their  children,  and  have,  in  several  places,  tak- 
en measures  for  founding  of  schools.  An  act  of  assem- 
bly was  passed  in  the  year  1724,  for  establishing  of  a 
free  school  in  the  town  of  Dorchester,  in  the  parish  of 
St.  George.  Upon  this  occasion  some  of  the  most  con- 
siderable gentlemen  of  this  colony,  wrote  to  the  society, 
"The  chief  source  of  irreligion  and  immorality  here,  is 
the  want  of  schools  ;  and  we  may  justly  be  apprehen- 
sive, that  if  our  children  continue  longer  to  be  deprived 
of  opportunities  of  being  instructed,  Christianity  will  of 
course  decay  insensibly,  and  we  shall  have  a  generation 
of  our  own,  as  ignorant  as  the  native  Indians."  This  act 
hath  been  transmitted  to  Great  Britain  for  the  royal  as- 
sent. The  people  also  of  St.  Paul's  parish  have  lately 
raised  a  sum  of  money  by  voluntary  subscriptions,  for 
founding  a  free-school ;  and  Mr.  Whitmarsh  of  this  pa- 
rish, lately  deceased,  hath  left  500/.  for  this  purpose; 
they  have  now  good  hopes  of  raising  a  sufficient  fund 
for  building  and  endowing  one.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Ludlam, 
late  the  society's  missionary  at  Gooscreek,  bequeathed 
all  his  estate,  which  hath  been  computed  to  be  about 
2000/.  Carolina  money,  for  building  and  endowing  a 
school  at  Gooscreek.  This  society,  who  are  the  trustees 
appointed  by  his  will,  hope  to  settle  this  school  in  a  little 
time.  The  late  Richard  Beresford,  Esq.  of  St.  Thomas's 
parish,  in  this  colony,  has  been  a  great  promoter  of  the 
founding  of  schools.  He  died  in  March,  1722,  and  by 
his  will  bequeathed  the  annual  profits  of  his  estate, 
which  was  very  considerable,  in  trust,  to  be  paid  to  the 
vestry  of  that  parish ;  from  the  time  of  his  decease,  until 


MISSIONAHIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA.  567 

his  son.  who  was  at  that  time  about  eight  years  of  age, 
should  arrive  at  the  age  of  21  years  :  directing  farther 
the  vestry  to  apply  one-third  of  the  yearly  profits  of  his 
estate,  for  the  support  of  one  or  more  schoolmasters ; 
who  should  teach  reading,  accounts,  mathematicks,  and 
other  liberal  learning;  and  the  remaining  two-thirds, 
towards  the  support  and  maintenance  of  the  children  of 
the  poor  of  that  parish,  who  should  be  sent  to  this  school. 
The  vestry  of  this  parish  have  since  received  from  this 
estate  6500/.  Carolina  money,  and  placed  out  1200/.  of 
it,  in  purchase  of  a  plantation,  about  half  a  mile  distant 
from  the  church,  containing  600  acres  of  land,  with  con- 
venient buildings  upon  it,  for  the  use  of  'he  designed 
school ;  and  placed  out  the  remaining  money  at  interest 
upon  land  security. 

It  is  now  to  be  hoped  this  necessary  work,  of  the  edu- 
cation of  the  youth,  will  be  carried  on  with  success  ; 
which  the  society  have  always  strove  to  the  utmost  of 
their  power  to  promote  ;  they  have  not  only  helped  to- 
wards maintenance  of  some  schoolmasters,  but  have 
also,  at  times,  sent  large  quantities  of  good  books,  as 
Bibles,  Common-Prayer  books,  Whole  Duties  of  Man, 
Catechisms,  and  other  devotional  books.  The  society 
have  sent  to  this  province  above  2000  volumes,  and 
above  300/.  worth  of  small  tracts,  not  bound. 

16.  I  have  now  related  the  endeavours  of  the  society, 
towards  settling  religion  in  this  colony  ;  which,  however 
small  in  comparison  of  the  great  end  sought  for,  have, 
notwithstanding,  had  important  consequences.  The 
zeal  and  bounty  of  this  society,  hath  raised  a  noble  and 
truly  Christian  emulation  in  the  inhabitants  of  this 
province,  to  carry  on  so  great  and  necessary  a  work. — 
The  example  set  by  the  societ}'^  hath  influenced  the  peo- 
ple to  contribute  very  bountifully  to  their  own  happi- 


5B8  MISSIONARIES  SENT  TO  CAROLINA. 

ness,  hath  induced  them,  with  great  chearfulness,  to 
build  churches,  to  assign  stated  salaries  to  the  clergy,  by 
acts  of  assembly,  to  allot  glebes  to  the  -churches,  to  open 
and  to  endow  schools  for  the  education  of  their  children. 
Soon  after  the  foundation  of  this  society  an  act  of  assem- 
bly passed  in  the  year  1706,  for  "Establishmg  rehgious 
worship  according  to  the  Church  of  England ; "  for  di- 
viding the  whole  province  into  ten  parishes,  (to  which 
three  have  been  since  added)  for  allowing  a  considerable 
sum  for  the  building  each  church,  and  ordering  one  to 
be  built  in  each  parish  ;  for  incorporating  the  rectors  or 
ministers  ;  for  allowing  the  ministers  of  country  parishes 
100/.  a  year,  current  money  of  that  province  each;  and 
the  rector  of  Charles-town  ]  50/.  All  which  churches 
were  soon  after  built,  have  been  supply'd  with  ministers 
by  this  society,  and  have  been  faithfully  paid  their  set- 
tled salaries  by  the  country.  And  lately  in  the  year 
1723,  a  farther  law  was  passed  for  augmenting  the 
Ministers  salaries,  and  appointing  them  to  be  paid  in 
proclamation  money.  The  Clergy  were  so  sensible  of 
this  liberality  of  the  people,  that  they  did  in  the  most 
grateful  manner  represent  to  the  society,  that  consider- 
ing the  circumstances  of  the  colony,  it  was  a  very 
generous  settlement. 

Thus  through  the  pious  liberality  of  the  country, 
though  there  was  scarce  any  face  of  the  church  of 
England  in  this  province,  when  this  society  was  first 
established,  there  have  been  13  churches,  and  4  chapels 
of  ease  since  built ;  a  free-school  hath  been  erected  at 
Charles-Town.  The  whole  body  of  the  people,  have 
had  the  advantage  of  the  administration  of  God's  word 
and  sacraments,  and  such  a  light  set  up  among  them, 
as,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  no  age  shall  see  extinguished. 


AV^ 


^  OF  PfflS^ 


/; 


AN 


nO\'  9  - 1927 


^> 


ACCOUNT 


OF    THE  • 


BREAKING  OUT 


OF  THE 


YAMASSEE     WAR, 

IN  SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

EXTRACTED 

FROM    THE    BOSTON    NEWS, 

OP  THE  13th  OP  JUNE,   1715. 


72 


ACCOUNT. 


On  Tuesday  last  arrived  here  His  Majesty's  ship 
Success,  Captain  Meade,  Commander,  about  12  days 
passage  from  South  Carolina,  by  whom  his  excellency, 
our  Governor,  had  a  letter  from  the  Honourable  Gov- 
Craven,  of  South  Carolina,  acquainting  him  that  all  their 
Indians,  made  up  of  many  various  Nations,  consisting  of 
between  1000  to  1200  men,  (lately  paid  obedience  to  that 
Government)  had  shaken  off  their  fidelity,  treacherously 
murdering  many  of  His  Majesty's  subjects. 

Gov.  Craven  hearing  of  this  rupture,  immediately 
despatched  Captain  Nairn  and  Mr.  John  Cockran,  gen- 
tlemen well  acquainted  with  the  Indians,  to  know  the 
cause  of  their  discontent,  who  accordingly  on  the  15th 
of  April,  met  the  principal  part  of  them  at  the  Ya- 
massee  Town,  about  130  miles  from  Charlestown,  and 
after  several  debates,  pro  and  con.  the  Indians  seemed 
very  ready  to  come  to  a  good  agreement  and  reconcilia- 
tion, and  having  prepared  a  good  supper  for  our  Messen- 
gers, all  went  quietly  to  rest ;  but  early  next  morning 
their  lodging  was  beset  with  a  great  number  of  Indians, 
who  barbarously  murdered  Captain  Nairn  and  Messieurs 
John  Wright,  and  Thomas  Ruffly,  Mr.  Cockran  and  his 
wife  they  kept  prisoners,  whom  they  afterwards  slew. 
One  Seaman  Burroughs,  a  strong  robust  man,  seeing 
the  Indians'  cruel  barbarity  on  the  other  gentlemen, 
made  his  way  good  through  the  middle  of  the  enemy, 
they  pursuing  and  firing  many  shot  at  him.  One  took 
him  through  the  cheek  (which  is  since  cured)  and 
coming  to  a  river,  he  swam  through,  and  alarmed  the 


AN    ACCOUNT    OF   THE    YAMASSEE    WAR.  571 

plantations;  so  that  by  his  escape,  and  a  merchantman 
that  lay  in  Port  Royal  River,  that  fired  some  great 
guns  on  the  Enemy,  several  Hundreds  of  English  lives 
were  saved. 

At  the  same  time  that  Governour  Craven  despatched 
Captain  Nairn  and  Mr.  Cockran  to  make  enquiry  of 
the  rupture  between  us  and  the  Indians,  he  got  himself 
a  party  of  horse,  and  being  accompanied  with  several 
gentlemen  volunteers,  intended  for  the  Yamassee  Town, 
in  order  to  have  an  impartial  account  of  their  complaints 
and  grievances,  to  redress  the  same,  and  to  rectify  any 
misunderstanding  or  disorders  that  might  have  hap- 
pened. And  on  his  journey  meeting  with  certain  infor- 
mation of  the  above  Murder,  and  the  Rebellion  of  the 
Enemy,  he  got  as  many  men  ready  as  could  be  got,  to 
the  Number  of  about  Two  hundred  and  Forty,  design- 
ing to  march  to  the  Enemies'  Head  Quarters,  and  engage 
them. 

At  the  same  time  the  Governour  despatched  a  Cou- 
rier to  Colonel  Mackay,  with  orders  forthwith  to  raise 
v/hat  forces  he  could,  to  go  by  water  and  meet  him  at 
Yamassee  Tow^n.  The  Governour  marched  within 
Sixteen  miles  of  said  town,  and  encamped  at  night  in  a 
large  Savanna  or  Plain,  by  a  Wood-side,  and  was  early 
next  morning  by  break  of  day  saluted  with  a  volley  of 
shot  from  about  Five  hundred  of  the  enemy ;  that 
lay  ambuscaded  in  the  Woods,  who  notwithstanding 
of  the  surprise,  soon  put  his  men  in  order,  and  engaged 
them  so  gallantly  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  that  he 
soon  routed  the  enemy ;  killed  and  wounded  several  of 
them ;  among  whom  some  of  their  chief  Commanders 
fell,  with  the  loss  on  our  side  of  several  men  wounded, 
and  only  John  Snow,  sentinel,  killed.  The  Governour 
seeing  the  great   numbers   of  the  enemy,   and   want- 


572  AN    ACCOUNT    OF    THE    YAMASSEE    WAR. 

ing  pilots  to  guide  him  over  the  river,  and  then  hav- 
ing vast  woods  and  swam;'s  to  pass  through,  thought 
best  to  return  back. 

Captain  Mackay,  in  pursuit  of  his  orders,  gathered 
what  force  he  could,  and  embarked  by  water,  and  land- 
ing marched  to  the  Indian  Yamassee  town  ;  and  though 
he  was  disappointed  in  meeting  the  Govemour  there, 
yet  he  surprised  and  attacked  the  enemy,  and  routed 
them  out  of  their  town,  where  he  got  vast  quantities 
of  provision  that  they  stored  up,  and  what  plunder 
they  had  taken  from  the  English.  Colonel  Mackay 
kept  possession  of  the  Town  ;  and  soon  after  hearing 
that  the  enemy  had  got  into  another  fort,  where  w^ere 
upwards  of  200  Men,  he  detached  out  of  his  Camp 
about  140  Men,  to  attack  it  and  encrag-ed  them.  At 
which  time  a  young  Strippling,  named  Palmer,  with 
about  Sixteen  Men,  w^ho  had  been  out  upon  a  Scout, 
came  to  Colonel  Mackay 's  assistance,  who,  at  once, 
with  his  men,  scaled  their  walls,  and  attacked  them  in 
their  trenches,  killed  several,  but  meeting  with  so 
warm  a  reception  from  the  enemy  that  he  was  necessi- 
tated to  make  his  retreat;  yet  on  a  second  re-entry 
with  his  men,  he  so  manfully  engaged  the  enemy  as  to 
make  them  fly  their  fort.  Colonel  Mackay  being  with- 
out, engaged  them  on  their  flight,  where  he  slew  many 
of  them.    He  has  since  had  many  skirmishes  with  them. 

The  Govern  our  has  placed  garrisons  in  all  conve- 
nient places  that  may  be,  in  order  to  defend  the 
country  from  depredations  and  incursions  of  the  enemy, 
till  better  can  be  made.  We  had  about  a  hundred 
traders  among  the  Indians,  whereof  we  apprehend  they 
have  murdered  and  destroyed  about  Ninety  Men,  and 
about  Forty  more  Men  we  have  lost  in  several  skir- 
mishes. 


O  -  IQ. 


AN 


"ACCOUNT 


OF 


WHAT    THE     ARMY    DID, 


UNDER    THE 


COMMAND   OF   COL.   MOORE, 


IN 


HIS  EXPEDITION 


LAST  WINTER, 


AGAINST  THE  SPANIARDS  AND  SPANISH  INDIANS. 


IN   A    LETTER, 


FROM  THE  SAID   COL.  MOURE   TO   THE   GOVERNOR   OF  CAROLINA. 


PRINTED  IN  THE  BOSTON  NEWS, 


MAY    I,    1704. 


ACCOUNT. 


To  the  Governour  of  Carolina  : 

May  it  please  jour  honour  to  accept  o^  this  short 
narrative  of  what  I,  with  the  army  under  my  command, 
have  been  doing  since  my  departure  from  the  Ockomul- 
gee,  on  the  19th  of  December. 

On  the  14th  of  December  we  came   to  a  town,   and 
strong  and  almost  reofular  fort,  about  Sun  rising^  called 
Ayavillt.     At  our  first  approach  the  Indians  in  it  fired, 
and  shot  arrows  at  us  briskly  ;  from  which  we  shelter- 
ed   ounjelves  under   the    side    of  a  great   Mud-walled 
house,  till  we  could  take  a  view  of  the  fort,  and  consider 
of  the  best  way  of  assaulting  it:    which  we  concluded 
to  be,  by  breaking  tlie  church  door,  which  made  a  part 
of  the  fort,  with  axes.     I  no  sooner  proposed  this,  but 
my  men  readily  undertook  it:  ran  up  to  it  briskly,  (the 
enemy  at  the  same  time  shooting  at  them,)  were  beaten 
off  without  effectins-  it,  and  fourteen  white  men  wound- 
ed.     Two  hours  after  that,  we  thought  fit  to  attempt  the 
burning  of  the  church,  which  we  did,  three  or  four  In- 
dians assisting  us.     The  Indians  obstinately  defending 
themselves,  killed  us  two  men,  viz.  Francis  Plowden 
and  Thomas  Dale.    After  we  were  in  their  fort,  a  fryar, 
the  only  white  in  it,  came  forth  and  begged  mercy.     In 
this  we  took  about  twenty- six  men  alive,  and  fifty-eight 
women  and  children.     The  Indians  took  about  as  many 
more  of  each  sort.     The  fryar  told  us  we  killed,  in  the 
two  storms  of  the  fort,  twenty-five  men. 


COL.  moore's  expedition.  575 

The  next  morning  the  captain  of  St.  Lewis  Fort,  with 
twentj-three  men  and  four  hundred  Indians,  came  to 
fight  us,  which  we  did ;  beat  him  ;  took  him  and  eight 
of  his  men  prisoners  ;  and,  as  the  Indians,  which  say  it, 
told  us,  killed  five  or  six  whites.  We  have  a  particular 
account  from  our  Indians  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
Indian  men  killed  and  taken  in  the  fight ;  but  the 
Apalaichia  Indians  say  they  lost  two  hundred,  which 
w^e  have  reason  to  believe  to  be  the  least.  Capt.  John 
Bellinger,  fighting  bravely  at  the  head  of  our  men,  was 
killed  at  my  foot.  Capt.  Fox  dyed  of  a  wound  given 
him  at  the  first  storming  of  the  fort.  Two  days  after, 
I  sent  to  the  cassique  of  the  Ibitachka,  who,  with  one 
hundred  and  thirty  men,  was  in  his  strong  and  well 
made  fort,  to  come  and  make  his  peace  with  me,  the 
which  he  did,  and  compounded  for  it  with  his  church's 
plate,  and  ten  horses  laden  with  provisions.  After  this, 
I  marched  through  five  towns,  which  had  all  strong 
forts,  and  defences  against  small  arms.  They  all  sub- 
mitted and  surrendered  their  forts  to  me  without  condi- 
tion. I  have  now  in  my  company  all  the  whole  people 
of  three  towns,  and  the  greatest  part  of  four  more.  We 
have  totally  destroyed  all  the  people  of  four  towns  :  so 
that  we  have  left  the  Apalatchia  but  that  one  town 
which  compounded  with  one  part  of  St.  Lewis  ;  and  the 
people  of  one  town,  which  run  away  altogether:  their 
town,  church  and  fort,  we  burnt.  The  people  of  St. 
Lewis  came  to  me  every  night.  I  expect  and  have  ad- 
vice that  the  town  which  compounded  with  me  are 
coming  after  me.  The  waiting  for  these  people  make 
my  marches  slow ;  for  I  am  willing  to  bring  away  with 
me,  free,  as  many  of  the  Indians  as  I  can,  this  being  the 
address  of  the  commons  to  your  honour  to  order  it  so. 
This  will  make  my  men's  part  of  plunder  (which  other- 


576  COL.  moore's  expedition. 

wise  might  have  been  100/.  to  a  man)  but  small.  But  I 
hope  with  your  honour's  assistance  to  find  a  way  to  gra- 
tifie  them  for  their  loss  of  blood.  I  never  see  or  hear  of 
a  stouter  or  braver  thin^  done,  than  the  storming^  of  the 
fort.  It  hath  regained  the  reputation  we  seemed  to  have 
lost  under  the  conduct  of  Robert  Macken,  the  Indians 
now  having  a  mighty  value  for  the  whites.  Apalatchia 
is  now  reduced  to  so  feeble  and  low  a  condition,  that  it 
can  neither  support  St.  Augustine  with  provisions,  nor 
distrust,  endamage  or  frighten  us  :  our  Indians  living 
between  the  Apalatchia  and  the  French.  In  short,  we 
have  made  Carolina  as  safe  as  the  conquest  of  Apalatch- 
ia can  make  it. 

If  I  had  not  so  many  men  wounded  in  our  first  attempt, 
I  had  assaulted  St.  Lewis  fort,  in  which  is  about  28  or 
30  men,  and  20  of  these  came  thither  from  Pensacola  to 
buy  provisions  the  first  night  after  I  took  the  first  fort. 

On  Sabbath,  the  23d  instant,  I  came  out  of  Apalatch- 
ia settle,  and  am  now  about  30  miles  on  my  way  home ; 
but  do  not  expect  to  reach  it  before  the  middle  of  March, 
notwithstanding  my  horses  will  not  be  able  to  carry  me 
to  the  Cheeraque's  Mountain.  I  have  had  a  tedious 
duty,  and  uneasy  journey ;  and  though  I  have  no  reason 
to  fear  any  harm  from  the  enemy,  through  the  differ- 
ence between  the  whites,  and  between  Indians  and 
Indians,  bad  way  and  false  alarms,  I  do  labour  under 
hourly  uneasiness.  The  number  of  free  Apalatchia 
Indians  that  are  now  under  my  protection,  and  bound 
with  me  to  Carolina,  are  1300,  and  100  slaves.  The 
Indians  under  my  command  killed  and  took  prisoners  in 
the  plantations,  whilst  we  stormed  the  fort,  as  many  In- 
dians as  we  and  they  took  and  killed  in  the  fort. 

Dated  in  the  woods  50  miles  north  and  east  of  Apalatchia. 

THE    END. 


